Friendship Between a Tiger and a Dragon
by Animation Universe 2005
Summary: Max meets a new friend and what he finds...is a dragon and they end up becoming very best friends and an unexpected friendship has emerged between a tiger and a dragon. How far will Max go to ensure that a dragon and a tiger can become friends! All you have to do...check it out!
1. Getting Used to Being 10

This is definitely coming out of the gate for me and I thought to myself what if Max made a friend with a dragon? Of course, it takes place after the events of 'Joys of Being 10'...like several months after all my one-shot birthday fics and what's on Max's mind as he gets older. So...this is what came out. Dedicated to The Master of Stories and SpiritualLoneWolfXIII! Enjoy!

* * *

Friendship Between a Tiger and a Dragon

by: Terrell James

Chapter 1: Getting Used to Being 10

One sunny afternoon passed by at the Valley of Peace and Max was sitting on the front porch of the house, watching people pass by and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to get some quiet time in a big loud house that he's always been used to and he's trying to get used to the fact that he's growing a little older now and trying to come to terms with it. Yet at the same time, he also fears that he'll fall victim into being ignored or something like that because he's growing out of that innocent kid phase and into the early stages of adolesence.

But since his 10th birthday, things sorta changed for a bit and though he's still a kid at times, he felt like most days, he was a little left out because his older siblings was growing a little bigger and most of the younger ones were the only ones he can be around with at the most. However, he's still around Musaki and Arizona the whole time around and it wasn't really a loss for him and he can still go to them for whatever the case may be.

Soon enough, he heard the door open and out comes Arizona and he said, "Hey, Zona."

"Hey, Maxie. Whatcha doing out here?" asked Arizona, sitting next to him.

"Oh, nothing...I'm just sitting here." Max replied.

Arizona blinked his eyes a few times and he could tell something's up with him and he said, "Come on...you can tell me what's going on. We always tell each other everything."

"Everything?" asked Max.

He was gonna respond yes, but kinda froze for a second and said, "Well...almost everything. This is one thing that I've never told anyone before. I'm a master at shooting bows and arrows when I was a pup."

Max widened his eyes at that particular explanation and asked, "You did?"

"Hey, I was bored out of my mind at that tower. I gotta have something to do and learn something out of it." Arizona stated.

"Cool." Max said, amazed.

Arizona lets out a sigh of relief and said, "Yeah...so good to let that out of the open. All right, now you."

Max knew where this was going and by Arizona giving an example of how he almost tells Max everything, he was gonna do the same as well and he said, "Well...ever since I turned 10, things kinda changed. Logan, Tae Kwan Do, Crash and Bang got too busy to hang out with me and whatever I wanted to do with them, I kinda got a little left out."

"Ohh...I'm sorry to hear that, guy." Arizona stated.

Max nodded his head and he said, "Then, the babies started giving extra attention to almost everyone. I don't know what happened. I used to have all the attention and now I get like...45 percent of it."

"I think that happens sometimes. When you were younger, you used to get all the attention from everyone around you...especially at the Jade Palace. Now that you got older, sometimes...that kind of thing shifts. We all have to fight for attention for what we do and in some ways, we end up doing stupid stuff just to gain attention or something." Arizona added.

"I wouldn't wanna do anything stupid to get attention. That's not what I would want to do." Max added.

"I know. I know you know better than that. You can't put the blame on being 10 years old though. When you're that age, you have the early stages of responsibility. You're still the youngest, but now that you're older, you just need to help out around the house a little more and whatever you do...always stay true to who you are like you always do. Don't let anyone change you and always be nice to people." Arizona stated.

Max nodded his head at that and he said, "I will, Zona. I promise."

"Pinky promise?" asked Arizona.

Max chuckled at this and lifted his pinky over to Arizona's and did a little pinky finger trick to keep their promise and Arizona smiled and said, "Look at us...we're both getting older and we end up doing pinky promises."

"It's a good cause, Z." Max added.

Sooner or later, Arizona stands up and said, "Hey, I'm gonna check on Sierra. You wanna come with me?"

Max nodded his head in response and he followed Arizona to see how Sierra's doing because mere months prior to Max's birthday, Sierra and Arizona had been together all the time and one night in particular...they took their relationship to a whole nother level.

"How does her stomach get bigger?" asked Max.

Arizona sighed at that question and figured it might come sooner or later and said, "Let's just say when you get older and you found the mate of your dreams, you'll get your answer there."

"So...I'm guess I'll never find out?" asked Max.

"You will...in about 2 or 5 years." Arizona responded.

* * *

Could it be possible? You'll find out on the next chapter!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**


	2. Checking on Sierra

And here's the answer to why Arizona is checking on Sierra.

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Chapter 2: Checking on Sierra

As soon as they reached Sierra's house, Arizona had hoped to see who she's progressing through this and he said, "Sierra? You there?"

"I'm in here, Ari." Sierra said.

Both Max and Arizona walked across the house until they reached the living room and in that instant, a very pregnant Sierra looked on towards the two of them and Max was a little surprised to see her like this and he said, "Hi, Sierra."

"Hi, Maxie. How are you?" asked Sierra.

Max came a little closer to her and he replied, "Pretty good? You?"

Sierra sighed heavily as she sat up a little bit and said, "I've had better days. But...it's all good."

Arizona walked beside her as he rubbed her belly for support and to show how much love he's giving to her and she said, "I'm fine, Arizona."

"You sure? I mean...I can help you get around and things like that, you know. Whatever you need, I'm your guy." Arizona added.

"It's really sweet that you can be on my side...and I have no problem with that, but I don't want you to overdo it." Sierra added.

Max seemed a little bit confused, but seemed to absorb what's going on between the two of them and he asked, "Is this how it will always be when it happens to me?"

Sierra chuckled and she rubbed his head and said, "When you have your girlfriend's belly growing and there's a baby inside there."

"Max...you have plenty of time to think about things like that. For now...just enjoy being young." Arizona added.

Sierra knew he had a good point there and she agreed with everything Arizona just said to him and said, "Enjoy being a kid."

"I will. When will Po-Po come out?" asked Max.

Sierra seemed a little stunned to hear that and she turned to Arizona and asked, "Po-Po?"

Arizona chuckled nervously at this and scratched the back of his neck and replied, "It's our baby?"

"So...you named him after the Dragon Warrior?" asked Sierra, raising an eyebrow.

"Just for now...until we determine if it's either a boy or a girl...or maybe a 6-foot, 300 pound panda." Arizona said, ending with a chuckle.

Sierra giggled in response to that and she said, "Max may be getting older, but I still see him as this cute little cub I've grown used to. At least some parts of him remained the same."

Max patted Sierra's pregnant belly and said, "I'll see you soon, cousin Po-Po."

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If you're wondering how Sierra got pregnant...read my one-shot series, 'My OC:'s Mature One-Shots'. BTW, there are two storylines in this story; one is where Max meets a friend who's a dragon and the other is Sierra being pregnant. Interesting, huh? Stay tuned for more!

**Voice of Sierra: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**


	3. Progressing Moves

I know what some of you guys are thinking...now that Max is 10, has he lost touch with kung-fu? You be the judge...

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Chapter 3: Progressing Moves

At the Jade Palace

Max was facing off with Tigress once again for a little training session and although Tigress would have anything else better to do other than this, she was determined to show him that she can still be capable of showing him who's the dominant force of kung-fu. But Max...played it cool and showed zero fear at all and has a little bit of confidence in himself after all the stuff he's gotten over the years and he was more than ready and game to spar with Tigress.

"You may be older now, but don't think I'll go easy on you." Tigress said, with a hint of warning in her voice.

"I don't expect you to." Max replied.

With that, Tigress more than ready to unsheath her claws and attack him in full force, but unbeknownst to her...Max came back swinging as he jabbed a right hook direct to Tigress' face resulting in a punch-out penetration and flips her down the ground multiple times and used her Tiger Style against her and delivered a round-house one two kick.

Tigress was being beaten like never before and she got right back and she turned completely serious and furious as she went forward to attack Max with zero amounts of mercy whatsoever and punched, kicked, threw and unleashed a huge amount of fury on him...but Max didn't seem fazed at all as he blocked and dodged her punches through and through.

It was with these same moves he used when he was younger that grew into something energetic and useful as he aged differently and it was like he learned it perfectly well like a trained pro...and it was always something that always angered and annoyed Tigress the most because he's young and is so good at everything he does that age didn't even matter.

The final move resulted in Max catapulting himself down towards the air and did a rapid full-fledged bodyslam on Tigress as the final KO. Afterwards, Tigress was laid down on the ground, looking shocked, bewildered and straight up angry that she got beaten by him again...even after growing older.

"Good sparring session." Max said, being polite as possible.

As Max walked away, Tigress growled at herself for challenging Max multiple times over the years to spar with him so he can be beaten and she can gain victory...but it turned the other way around and because Max is very advanced, she sees him as a big threat over not just his skills, but his talents that go beyond his years.

"I will never...lose to that cub. I don't care if he's still a kid. I will demolish him and he'll pay for defeating me in every sparring session." Tigress growled.

* * *

Meanwhile at the courtyard

Musaki and Arizona sparred with each other and for Musaki, he's gained a lot more strength throughout the whole day as his fighting skills grew progressively quick, fast and invincible due to his muscles and built style...because he had many years of experience of how mature and strong a kung-fu student can actually be and Arizona is the same way...only much more wiser and stronger than he is.

Arizona was determined to keep fighting and sparring Musaki and gained much more physical strength and just worked twice as hard to keep his fighting spirit pumping up and as Musaki went ahead and did his punch/kick style, Arizona grabbed his ankle and flipped him three times until Musaki placed his hands on the ground, did an aerial backflip and swiped Arizona in the head.

Arizona got back up and panted heavily and Shifu called it a stop as the two looked at each other for a second and Shifu said, "You two still got it. Well done to both of you."

"Thanks, Master Shifu." they replied, in unison.

Shifu comes over to Arizona and he tells him, "I'm well aware that you're becoming a first time father. I'd like to wish you congratulations on this occasion."

"Thanks, Shifu. It's actually the reason why I still wanna keep training...so I can be strong for Sierra and our cub. We're not sure if it'll be a boy or a girl." Arizona answered.

"I keep telling you, dude. It's gonna be a boy." Musaki added.

Just then, they see Max walking past them and he said 'hi' to them as well and they responded back and Shifu asked, "How'd it go with Tigress?"

"The usual." Max replied.

Soon enough, they see Tigress coming out of there still fuming over the loss of the sparring match and Musaki asked, "That bad?"

"I don't wanna talk about it!" Tigress shouted, pointing at Musaki.

Then, she turned to Max in which she responded with a stern growl and said, "This isn't over."

"One of these days, Tigress...it's gonna grow old. I can't always compete with you forever." Max stated.

"We'll see about that." Tigress growled, then walks away in a huff.

Shifu lets out a deep sigh as he lowered his ears down in shame and said to himself, "This is gone too far enough already."

"It's all right, Shifu. I'm used to it." Max added, with a smile.

* * *

Ironically, the rivalry between the two is another focal point into the story as Tigress' jealousy will grow more. You'll see later on!

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Shifu: Fred Tatasciore**

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**


	4. Hide and Seek

And despite the fact that Max is growing, he's still willing to spend time with his older sibs. Case in point...

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Chapter 4: Hide and Seek

Later that day, Max went along with his brothers; Hachiko, Mokani, Duke, Bakari, Isaiah, Zacharias, Tae Kwan Do and Logan to the bamboo forest further from the Valley of Peace to play a few games together to keep up with the brotherhood activities going and Max was really excited for this part because it had been a long time since they've done something together and Logan said, "You guys know about the game, right?"

"We've played it like the back of our heads, Logan." Duke stated.

Logan nods his head in response to that and he said, "All righty...you guys already know what to do anyways. You guys will hide and I'm gonna count."

"No peeking. Last time you did that, you knew where I was hiding to." Isaiah reminded him.

"Yeah, and me too." Max agreed.

Hachiko and Mokani were pretty new at this because they've been a part of the family for a short time now, but they're willing to go for it in order to bring in some fun in their lives and Tae Kwan Do said, "Let's do it, guys."

Logan went towards one area of the bamboos and started counting and after Logan started, everyone split in different directions to find a hiding spot...one that Logan will find it very tricky to find his brothers and in one of the hiding spots, Max runs in this one cave to find a few places to hide and he hopes that Logan will never find him there.

Yet...in the darkness of that cave, Max is totally unaware that someone's watching him with heavy breathing and his eyes were totally visible from his face as he's growling very quietly.

* * *

Sorry it was short, but I decided to make it seem more adventurous in case Max encounters a dragon. It'll come by on the next chapter!

**Voice of Logan: Mikey Kelley**

**Voice of Duke: Vincent Martella**

**Voice of Isaiah: Greg Cipes**

**Voice of Tae Kwan Do: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Max: (also) Ben Diskin**


	5. Encounter with a Dragon

And here's where Max finds his discovery with a dragon...and an unexpected friendship emerges.

* * *

Chapter 5: Encounter with a Dragon

Max was still walking around that cave to look for a hiding spot in case Logan plans to find him there and he knows that he might win the game of hide and seek while Logan is still searching for him and he looked in several parts of the cave, but most of them were either too short, too big, too smart or too obvious to find places to hide and soon enough, he stumbled across a very deep hiding place near the boulders and he widened his eyes at the size of it.

"This is perfect." Max whispered, as he walked towards that hiding spot.

Once he got in, he lets out a few chuckles and said, "Logan will never find me here."

Not less that 20 seconds later, Max heard some heavy breathing coming from that cave and he might've already thought that it was Logan coming in to find him so quickly and just kept his mouth shut for a second until he heard that same heavy breathing/growling sound again and in that moment, he could tell that it might be Logan.

Max lets out a deep exasperated sigh and muttered, "How did Logan find me so quickly?"

The growling sounds got a little bigger and more heavier by the second and he just got annoyed by it that he heard the sounds of footprints and someone running quickly, but Max turned around to keep himself in check in case someone tries to pull a prank on him or something and he puts his dukes up and panted heavily.

"Hello? Who's there?" Max asked.

Then, a loud screech erupted the cave and that drove Max to his inner-most fears that it might've been a monster or something like that and he would want to run and find another hiding spot if he wanted to, but he just wanted to find what that is and where it came from, so he slowly walked over towards the cave to search for this unknown person and once he stopped, he started shaking and breathing heavily a little bit and after a few seconds...

He leapt out of nowhere and somehow comes face to face with someone with blue and green eyes blinking at him and it looked angrier than Master Tigress getting her butt clawed by Max by accident and Max slowly came closer towards it and said, "Whoever you are...I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be."

That bewildered Max that it can talk as well, but he shook it off like it was nothing and said, "Well, I'm not."

"Just go away and leave me alone."

Max stood right where he's standing and he's not one to back down if someone doubts him or keeps him from going and he just stood in the same spot and the figure said, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"I just want to know who you are. Friend or foe?" asked Max.

"Does it matter what I am?"

"It does to me." Max stated.

Before long, the figure growled at Max and from the look on its eyes, he looked very serious and said, "All right...you asked for it!"

Very quickly, the figure showed itself and revealed to be a silver and black dragon...who's somewhat 2 years older than Max coming to attack him, but received a painful roar that's so loud that it nearly shattered the rocks crumbling down and Max could tell that the dragon's full of pain right now.

"Ow! Why can't I just walk with this thing on me?!" the dragon growled.

Max froze for a second and wondered what's his problem and he got a little closer to him to find out what it is, but the dragon didn't want him anywhere near him and he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Easy. I'm here to help." Max replied.

"I don't need your help, all right?! I can take care of this myself!" the dragon snarled.

Max was observing to see what the problem is just in case and for a short time, he saw thorn on his foot and realized that that might be the reason for it and the dragon tried to get it off, but he just kept roaring in pain and it proved unsuccessful. The cub really had no choice but to help him and he went closer to the dragon's foot and saw that there is a thorn there.

"What are you doing? I said I didn't need your help!" the dragon exclaimed.

Max wasn't really listening and he just grabbed ahold of the dragon's paw to take the thorn out of his foot, but the dragon wasn't gonna have it.

"Did you not hear me?! I said I don't need your...OWWWWWW!" the dragon began, but screamed in total pain as soon as Max grabbed the thorn.

The second Max grabbed the thorn, he pulled it out of its foot and that caused the dragon to roar very angrily at him and the dragon said, "Are you crazy?! You are so gonna get burned for this!"

Seconds later, Max showed him the thorn that got pulled out and that stopped the dragon on his tracks and eventually calmed himself down a bit and couldn't believe he actually got it out for him and he took one look on his paw and sees that it's really gone. He looked at the thorn for a double check and Max is really holding it and flicked it out of there.

"You're welcome." Max replied.

Before long, Max came closer to him, pulled out some shaolin wraps and a little bit of spray to heal that paw and he sprayed it on the dragon's paw, making the dragon groan a little bit and Max quickly puts some shaolin wrap around the paw so it can heal faster.

The dragon was still puzzled as to how Max really helped him out, but was amazingly amazed regardless that he really did that and he said, "But...why?"

"Believe it or not...because it's the right thing to do. Even if you were gonna kill me, I was gonna help you out regardless. Wouldn't you want someone to help you?" Max asked.

The dragon pondered on that thought for a minute and then it hit him...he's never had someone to help him with anything before and it intrigued him that someone would help him out instead of running away and being afraid and before he could get a chance to respond, Max had already left and before long...that question started ringing through his head.

'Wouldn't you want someone to help you?'

With that, the dragon went back to his usual hiding spot and just laid back down on the floor and for the first time in his life...he was no longer invisible anymore.

"I found my very first friend." the dragon whispered.

* * *

And the friendship begins. Coming up...we'll get to know these two better.

**Voice of the unnamed dragon: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Max: (again, also) Ben Diskin**


	6. Support

From Max...we now focus on Sierra's pregnancy.

* * *

Chapter 6: Support

Later that night, Sierra was visiting with Arizona at the Bushido-Akio house and found himself surrounded by Reiko, Zoey, Luna and Madison as they give her some love and support for the new cub and things like that. Reiko said to Sierra, "Just think of it as a joy to have."

"I hope you're right. I gotta be honest with you, I'm really worried about parenthood for the first time." Sierra stated.

"Why's that?" asked Zoey.

"Well...I've never been a parent before. I mean...I just hope I don't abandon my baby the way my mom did when she dropped me off at that orphanage." Sierra stated.

Arizona's heart broke for her and he just wanted nothing more other than to be there for her and their first cub together and he held her paw and said, "We will never let that happen. I know that we'll make our fair share of mistakes along the way, but I promise you...we'll give our cub something the both of us never had."

Sierra was still a little scared, but she knows that with Arizona by her side, she'll be able to get through it all no matter what and she nuzzled his neck in response and Arizona reacted the same way and Luna said, "Okay, guys...that's how you guys created your little one."

"Hey...you try going off on a mission trip for a few days, reunite with your loved one that night and see what happens next." Arizona stated.

Luna chuckled in response to that and said, "Only when I'm gonna be engaged."

Almost immediately, in comes Summer and she wanted to see if Sierra's all right and she said, "Hey, sis."

"Hi, Summer." Sierra said, happy to see her as they embrace in a sisterly hug.

"How are you holding up?" asked Summer, as she's sitting down.

Sierra sighed heavily as she rubbed her belly and replied, "I've had bett

er days."

"When Musaki told me that you got pregnant, I just had to come and see you. I went to your house, but you weren't there and I knew for a fact that you'd be here." Summer stated.

"Aw, thank you so much." Sierra said, with a smile.

Summer blinked a few times and she looked at Arizona for a second and playfully punched him in the arm and said, "Just couldn't keep those fantasies to yourself?"

"Summer...the wolf instincts just kicked in. That's how it happened." Arizona said, in defense.

"Mm-hmm. Just don't leave her while she's pregnant." Summer said, with a stern voice.

Arizona immediately said, "Don't worry...that will never happen because I have been and always will be committed to Sierra. No matter what she wants or needs, I'll make that happen for her. I'm not like all wolves."

Sierra smiled at this and she said, "And if he tries to panic, I'll still kick his butt."

Soon enough, Musaki steps in the house and sees his girlfriend talking with Sierra and he said, "Mind if I intrude here?"

Summer comes over and they embraced each other with a kiss on the lips and she said, "Hey, Saki. How'd it go at the blacksmith apprenticeship?"

"Very well. It's a little exhausting, but I'm really learning a lot." Musaki answered.

Reiko smiled at this and she was definitely proud of her step-nephew for committing his goal and said, "That's wonderful, Musaki. I believe you will make a living as a blacksmith."

"Thanks. I heard that they make a lot of money if they open their own business. I hope that when I move back to Shanghai Secluded Valley, I'll probably run a blacksmith shop of my own when I'm older." Musaki said.

Summer was deeply impressed with Musaki's ambitious goals and keeping with them and she said, "Just don't let the money get in your head."

"Trust me...you're my most important treasure." Musaki added.

"You're so sweet." Summer added.

Just then, Musaki turned to Sierra and he asked, "So...when do we know if it's a boy or girl?"

"We're gonna head to the doctor's tomorrow and find out for ourselves. If it's a son, we'll be thrilled. And if it's a daughter, I'll be twice as excited." Sierra answered.

Musaki nodded his head in approval with the two future parents and said, "As long as Arizona doesn't turn into an overprotective dad when your kid gets older."

"I'll try to keep cool." Arizona added.

* * *

Very sweet and tender moments. Stay tuned to see more!

**Voice of Sierra: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**

**Voice of Summer: Kellie Martin**

**Voice of Reiko: Tress MacNeille**

**Voice of Zoey: Lacey Chabert**

**Voice of Luna: Hayden Pannetiere**


	7. Cavern Story

After Max met with a dragon, he goes on total hush-hush mode and keep it hidden from everyone...including his brothers. And that's where something unexpected happens.

* * *

Chapter 7: Cavern Story

That night, Max was laying on his bed just thinking about that situation with the dragon and it seemed as though he was wondering why he's living in a cave all by himself and for some reason...he seems to have some sort of connection on what it really means to feel alone in the world because he used to feel the exact same way after his birth parents didn't want anything to do with him in his early childhood years and again at the orphanage. Could it be the fact that he sees himself in that dragon?

More importantly, how will he tell this to everyone else? If they found out that Max had befriended a dragon, the reaction would be completely catastrophic and would embed itself into a full-fledged chaos that may result in them saying that dragons are dangerous and all around monsters...which at times is true...but Max is starting to question why anyone would judge someone so quickly if they don't know who they really are and who could be considered friend of foe.

The best thing he could do is just keep it to himself until he feels like he's ready to tell them and it's the very first time that he can keep something so secretive when he's always one to be an open book about everything. That part he's always used to and with this one, it's just better to keep it to himself.

Just then, he sees Logan and Tae Kwan Do walk in the room and Max sat up for a second and Tae Kwan said, "You okay, Max?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Max replied.

"Yeah...you seemed quiet after we finished playing hide and seek. That's kinda weird because usually you'd talk and talk until we reach home. Logan enjoyed the quiet, but I had a feeling that something was up. Wanna talk about it?" asked Tae Kwan.

"Nah, I'm fine." Max replied.

"Fine with us. I personally like the quiet Max because he can't annoy me any further." Logan retorted.

Max tilted his head in confusion and rolled his eyes in response that and he said, "You're such a dork, Logan."

"There it is." Logan stated, smugly.

Tae Kwan assumed that because Max got older, so did they and just got into this 'left out when older' syndrome and he walked towards him and said, "Is this has something to do with us being busy all the time?"

"Sometimes." Max replied.

Tae Kwan sighed heavily at this and he said, "Look, if you felt that way, we're sorry. I know that we all used to hang out with each other and since the panda cubs were born, we've been kinda neglecting you a little. Tell you what; how about we hang out at our MMA class tomorrow? Maybe reconnect a little bit, huh?"

Max would really like that very much...yet he does want to get to know the dragon a little better and that would mean a conflicted overload commitment phobia to that and said, "Sure."

"Awesome. Class starts at like 3:00 or 4:00...so think you can join us?" asked Tae Kwan.

"I'd love to." Max replied.

"Awesome, dude." Tae Kwan said, happily.

Logan was pretty much mortified that Max is gonna tag along for this whole thing and feared that he'll embarrass his reputation in person and as they walked out of the room, Logan said, "You do know we're gonna be screwed, right? Max might destroy my reputation here!"

"Calm down, Logan. You barely have a reputation so what are you talking about?" asked Tae Kwan.

"Because I'm the cool dude and nobody wants to see the cool dude have a soft side. It's like a weakness." Logan answered.

Tae Kwan rolled his eyes and gave Logan a headlock and said, "You've been hanging around Tigress too long."

Meanwhile, Max was laying back down his bed and on one hand, he feels happy that he's getting a chance to see what the kickbox class is like and maybe learn a few things and spend time with his brothers a little. However, he does want to see that dragon again and get to know him a little better and he intends to do just that in the morning. Hopefully, no one will know about it and he'll make time to head to that MMA class for a visit.

* * *

Very awesome idea to have Max join his brothers at the MMA class. So...how does that work out? Max can see the dragon in the morning and make it to MMA class that afternoon. Let's see how that idea goes!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Tae Kwan Do: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Logan: Mikey Kelley**


	8. Heading Back

Now we get to where Max sneaks out in the morning to see his dragon friend. His intentions were to check on him and see how he's doing without anyone knowing. However...he does need to find a way to get there.

* * *

Chapter 8: Heading Back

The next morning, Max was hanging outside for a bit to have some fresh air and since both Mako and Reiko are at work, he thought it would be best to sneak out and see that dragon again...all before going to the kicboxing class with Logan and Tae Kwan Do later that afternoon. As he left the house to take a little walk around the valley, he had this feeling that maybe he can waltz out of the Valley of Peace and to the bamboo forest because that's where the cave is at.

The only thing standing his way is how can he get there very quickly. and that's something he's pondering for a while...until he saw Crane walking past him and figured this would be a good idea because he'll get there quickly and he walked behind him and the number-one way to get his attention was tugging his tailfeathers. Once Max tugged Crane's tailfeathers, that obviously surprised him and he turned around and saw the cub behind him.

"Good morning, Crane." Max said, innocently.

Crane lets out a sigh of relief and glared at Max for a second and he said, "We talked about this. Don't tug my tailfeathers to get my attention."

"I'm sorry, Crane. Hey...can you do me a little favor?" asked Max.

"What is it?" asked Crane.

He motioned Crane to come closer and he said, "Think you can take me to the bamboo forest and drop me off there?"

Once Crane heard that request, he froze for a second and had no idea how he can respond to that and asked, "I beg your pardon?"

"Take me to the bamboo forest, please." Max replied.

"Uh...I don't know, Max. You really want me to drop you off at the bamboo forest all by yourself?" asked Crane, a little worried.

Max nodded his head at this and Crane knew that Max was getting older, but never thought that he'd be ready to wander around the bamboo forest alone already and Crane said, "Aren't you worried that someone might kidnap you or something?"

"Crane...I'm 10 years old, remember? Sometimes you have to take a few risks." Max said.

"What's the reason?" asked Crane.

Max wasn't sure to tell Crane this, but he knows that Crane wants the truth and nothing but the truth and he said, "If you can fly me there, I can tell you."

Crane sighed at this because that would require actually taking Max there, but if it's enough to tell him the reason, there's no excuse why he shouldn't and he said, "Grab ahold of my legs."

Max smiled and with that, he grabbed Crane's legs and as the avian bird spread his wings, he takes a deep breath and manages to fly all the way out of the village and Crane said, "Better tell me quick because this could take seconds."

Before long, Max explained to Crane everything about what had occured yesterday about meeting a dragon for the first time and helping him with removing a thorn from his foot and wrapping it up with bandages and the reason to come back to see how he was doing. Once Crane got his explanation, he was completely shocked and amazed by taking that ultimate risk.

"And that's why you wanted to come back? To see how he's doing?" asked Crane.

"Yeah. Why else wouldn't I have done it?" asked Max.

Crane had to admit that Max could take a lot of risk, even if it meant doing stuff for the right reasons and said, "You're an unusual cub."

"Embrace my weirdness, Crane." Max added.

Once they finally made it to that cave, Max released himself from Crane's legs and he said, "Thanks, Crane. By the way...don't tell this to your comrades. Including Master Tigress. If she finds out for herself, I will never hear the end of it."

"Good point. But you know she can sense who's keeping a secret without even questioning us." Crane added.

"That's why I don't tell Tigress anything because she just doesn't understand anything about me...because she might think that I can't accomplish anything because I'm small and I'm just a kid. I know I'm a kid, but who cares? I'm not out to prove anything to anyone or even myself. I do what I feel is right...even if it's at a high price or things like that. Don't you guys do the same?" asked Max.

Once all of Max's words set in, Crane knew that it was very true and he made a very solid point on this...counting the hundred times Crane and the other Five save China and the Valley of Peace and he lets out a sigh and said, "I guess you're right, Max. You really have a way of following your heart, don't you?"

"Always." Max replied.

Crane nodded at this and as soon as Max entered that cave, the cub waved bye to him before walking forward and the avian bird sighed heavily and whispered, "I hope you know what you're doing."

Crane flew away and looked back for a second at that cave and he was not only worried for Max's safety, but also the dragon he helped and he wasn't sure how he could tell the Five and Master Shifu...but the last thing he would do is betray Max's trust after that speech Max gave him and just thought to himself, "That cub always surprises me a lot."

* * *

Well...there he goes. What's gonna happen once they meet again? You'll find out.

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Crane: Amir Talai**


	9. Getting to Know the Dragon

And now...the moment of truth.

* * *

Chapter 9: Getting to Know the Dragon

As Max kept walking towards the cave, he just looked around for some exploration and took in all the amazement on the inside and he's been in many caves before, but never in one closer from the Valley of Peace and it was a good thing for him to take in some exploration for a while. But he's got something else in his mind; finding nthat dragon and checking in to see if he's all right and things like that.

Further from the cave, the same dragon was looking around and is watching Max walk by and that surprised him that he actually came back to see him and he blinked his eyes a few times and thought that he'd make a little surprise to see him face to face and he quietly dropped out of sight to see the cub again.

"Hello? Dragon? Are you here? It's me...the guy that pulled that thorn out of your foot. I just came back to see if you're doing okay." Max called out.

"I'm cool."

Just then, Max turns around when he saw the same dragon coming out of nowhere and walked over towards him, still wearing the bandage on his paw and Max stood over and said, "Hey, how are you?"

"Pretty good, I guess." the dragon replied.

Before long, both of them stood there looking at each other and Max pulled out something in his sack and brought in some food for him and the dragon looked at it and asked, "What are those?"

"I brought you some food in case you're hungry." Max replied.

The dragon took a closer look and started sniffing it to make sure it smells good or not and he was surprised with the amount of food Max has gotten and asked, "Are they good?"

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" asked Max.

Max puts out three pieces of egg rolls on his hand and reaches it towards the dragon and in surprise...the dragon opens his mouth and places his tongue across the egg rolls and ate them and he said, "This is really good. You got any more of those?"

"I got 12 more." Max replied.

"Throw them to me." the dragon replied.

Max was a little surprised to hear him say throw it to him because he wasn't sure if it was gonna miss, but when he threw it, the dragon reacted quickly, jumped in the air and caught it with his mouth as it went in and landed back on the ground...in which Max responsed very surprised with that and he couldn't move for a while because he was too amazed by what he had just witnessed.

"Whoa..." Max whispered.

Just then, the dragon sat down on the ground and reached out to his pouch to give Max something and he ended up giving Max the yin-yang coin and said, "You dropped this yesterday."

Max was a little surprised to see that he had this coin was missing and he said, "My yin-yang coin. I must've forgotten about this yesterday."

He walked closer to receive it and placed it in his pocket and said, "Thank you."

The dragon nodded in response as a gesture for 'you're welcome' and before long, Max sat down on the ground and he asked, "So...where are you from?"

"I honestly don't know. Maybe in some parts of China, maybe. But other than that...I really have no idea." the dragon replied.

"Do you have family?" asked Max.

The dragon sighed in response as he lowered his ears down a little bit and blinked his eyes for a minute and said, "I don't know if I have one. I got separated from my family when I was an egg."

That seemed to break Max's heart to know that the dragon has been born without a family and he knows what it must've felt like to have no family at first and he said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Why are you sorry?" asked the dragon.

"Because I know how it feels to be abandoned." Max answered.

The dragon growled in response to that and with an angry glare, he said, "I was not abandoned. I was separated. There's a big difference."

"Sorry." Max replied.

The dragon calmed himself down a little bit and said, "It's all right. There are some things that can make me angry and I'm a little easy to be hot headed. That's why I always scare people so I wouldn't want to lose my temper and do something I'll regret. I'm sure you've heard this before; all dragons are monsters."

"Not me. I don't think you're a monster. I think you just need a friend who accepts you for who you really are. I just tend to look beyond those bad parts and just find the good ones." Max added.

"But I almost scared you yesterday. You could've just ran away so I wouldn't hurt you." the dragon stated.

"But then I wouldn't have to help you. Sometimes...doing the right thing is just as important as listening to whatever myth they talk about because they can't tell the truth from the fake. I'm just unusual that way, but that's what I am." Max added.

The dragon was completely overwhelmed with a lot of things that Max has just said and it was like the things about Max are really true and he asked, "What's your name though?"

"I'm Maximus. But my friends call me Max. What's yours?"

"I don't have one. I was never born with one." the dragon added.

Max then thought of something that would fit the dragon and he said, "How about...Blaze?"

"Blaze? Blaze...sounds kind fitting for me because I do breath fire."

Before long, a friendship started to emerge from there and he spent most of the morning getting to know each other better and Blaze could see that there's something special in that cub and for coming over to see him takes a huge amount of loyalty in him that was something new to him...but he's willing to give it a go and see where it grows from there.

* * *

And that's how their friendship began! Stay tuned for more!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of unnamed dragon (now Blaze): (also) Ben Diskin**


	10. Taking Flight

And here's a new way to have Max back home...by dragon! The friendship still stands and it's not so weird to have Max be friends with a dragon...and believe it or not, these two have a lot in common.

* * *

Chapter 10: Taking Flight

Mid-morning comes around and the two kept talking with each other and sharing their own experiences on what it's like being outcasts and having everyone make an opinion on them without the true facts and Max was very open about how he was treated in the past with his birth parents, being tortured by some savage wolves and being bullied and picked on at the orphanage and with every single word, Blaze was completely surprised that Max had been through all that and more, yet it made him stronger than ever but still able to show compassion for others the same way he showed compassion towards Blazwe yesterday.

"Wow...I never thought you'd been through all of this." Blaze said, wide-eyed.

Max nodded at this and he said, "Yep. It was really hard, but I've grown from it now. It just made me who I am now...a really cool and nice person who's willing to help others that needed it the most. I made a promise to myself that no matter what happens or who tries to shove me out of the way, I'd help them in any way I can. Even if they say it's 'none of my business', I'll still help them."

"I've...I've never met someone like you before. I just thought that those people don't exist." Blaze said.

"I sorta get called 'their final hope' because I want to give them hope and comfort. Something I never had when I was a baby, but I want to help them in any way I can." Max said.

"You're a very surprising person, Maximus. Not to mention, lucky. You having a lot of brothers and sisters, a family and good friends. I've never had any of those things at all." Blaze said.

Max comes over and puts his paw on Blaze's shoulder and he said, "You do now. You just have to believe in yourself."

Blaze nuzzled Max for that kind of support that he wanted and yearned for so long and he said, "I'll try. You think you can help me?"

"I will." Max said, with a hint of conviction.

Soon after, Max could tell it's almost afternoon and he's been around the cave for merely 2 and a half hours now and he said, "Hey, Blaze."

"Yeah, Max?" asked Blaze.

"Can you fly?" asked Max.

Suddenly, Blaze opened up his wings and spreads them around and asked, "Why don't you find out? I taught myself how to fly."

Before long, Max climbs on top of Blaze and though they're the almost the same height, Blaze has flying skills bigger than any other dragon and Blaze said, "Hang on tight."

Almost immediately, Max hangs onto Blaze as the dragon begins running off around the cave and headed to the other side and there's another exit towards the cave and he opened up his wings and took off to the skies and once Max looked down, he realized he's a hundred and something feet off the ground and he's enjoying every bit of it.

The wind blowing through Max's fur and whiskers completely calms him down and it got him all fired up with excitement and Blaze asked, "How's it going?"

"It's awesome!" Max cheered.

"Hang on tight! I've got some great tricks!" Blaze exclaimed.

Before long, Blaze did a couple of tricks as Max was hanging on; ranging from the zig-zag, spinning with his wings open and closed, flipping the loop-de-loop and doing some aerodynamic flying skills with full speed and Max was enjoying every single second of it. Soon enough, Blaze looks at Max and asked, "You good?"

Max gave him a thumbs up and he knew the best way to live life is to keep living it up and he's carrying that philosophy every which way but loose and Blaze continued flying all around the skies and Max reached out and tried to touch the clouds, but he can only feel the clouds and he was all around awestruck and just loved that feeling of being free.

After several minutes of flying, they managed to fly across the other side of the Valley of Peace and Blaze spotted something huge coming in and he asked, "What's that big place over there?"

Soon, Max took a closer look at the big palace and he said, "That's the Jade Palace. Think you can drop me off on the roof there?"

"You're leaving?" asked Blaze.

"Yeah, I gotta get home. My parents might be wondering where I am." Max answered.

Blaze then asked, "Are you coming back tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. Maybe we can get to know each other more." Max said, smiling.

"Promise?" asked Blaze.

"I promise." Max answered.

With that, Blaze slowly landed down to the air until he reached the roof of the Jade Palace and afterwards, Max got off and he looked at Blaze and said, "Thanks for the flight, Blaze. I had a lot of fun."

"Anytime, Max." Blaze answered, happily.

The two of them brought in a fist bump and a high-five signature move where both of them made up their own secret high-five with their hands and their hind legs to ensure they're cool. Soon, Max heard someone climbing up the roof and Blaze said, "Uh-oh. Someone's coming."

"Hurry. If they catch you, we'll be in big trouble." Max whispered.

Blaze nods his head in agreement and immediately flew out of there and Max waved at him afterwards and he turned to walk out of there, but saw an orange and black striped paw coming in and he could easily tell that it's Tigress and the last thing he needed was to fill in explanations because in the end, she's never gonna understand it. But as soon as she made it there, she was surprised to see Max on the roof.

"What are you doing here?" asked Tigress.

"What? Can't a tiger cub wander around a roof in peace?" asked Max.

She folded her arms at him because of that response and she also said, "Only if you own it. You didn't hear something on the roof, did you?"

"Other than your heavy breathing?" asked Max.

"No...someone landed here." Tigress answered.

Max's eyes were totally bewildered when she heard that someone landed on the roof of the palace and assumed that she might've already knew about it and replied, "Like someone really big?"

"Yes." Tigress stated.

"Really, really big?"

"Yes!"

"Really, really, really, really big?"

"YES!"

"Oh...nah, I haven't heard a thing."

With that, he walks out of the roof and jumps out of there, only to find that he's landed on Master Shifu's face and he asked, "What's this I'm sitting on?"

"Young Maximus..."

Suddenly, he heard Shifu's voice and immediately got off of him and said, "Sorry about that."

Shifu got up, dusted himself off and picked up his cane and told him, "It's quite all right. What were you doing on the roof anyway?"

"On the roof? I wasn't doing anything. I was...just about to head home." Max answered.

"Oh. Very well then." Shifu answered.

With that, Max walked down the steps to the palace and afterwards, Shifu couldn't help but wonder why or how he got to the roof, but he decided to shove that thought away for now and said to himself, "He is not like anyone else."

Just then, Tigress landed on the ground and she said, "Max is up to something."

"Tigress...I do not need this right now. You and Max have been at each other for too long and I'm quite frankly getting too old for this. Either you two learn how to get along or I'll suspend you from training...again. Remember the last time your jealousy towards him got you in trouble and nearly got him killed?" asked Shifu, slightly annoyed.

Tigress remembered that moment very vividly and she said, "That's not my fault. He humiliated me in front of the entire Valley! I had to teach him a lesson somehow."

"He is a child, Tigress. Well, young man now, but still..." Shifu stated.

Shifu lets out a sigh and said, "If you try anything to harm Max in anyway..."

Tigress knew where she was going with this and she was totally aware of how annoyed Shifu gets whenever she starts something with Max and it ends with Max being either traumatized and/or semi-messed up due to her rising jealousy towards the cub and she said, "I'll try to be nice."

"See that you do. You're dismissed." Shifu added.

* * *

Stick around for more! The next chapter is Max going with Logan and Tae Kwan Do to their MMA class!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Blaze: (also) Ben Diskin**


	11. First MMA Class

And Max gets a chance to see what his big brothers do at the MMA class!

* * *

Chapter 11: First MMA Class

By around 2:30 pm, Logan was standing in the living room, waiting for Tae Kwan Do and Max to come down and he grew just a little short of patience because he has to deal with the fact that Max is going to join them on their classes and he fears that Max might soil his reputation if he bring up some stuff that would never be mentioned in front of the class...evidently fearing that he'll be ridiculed by his fellow classmate, Amber.

"...and all you have to do is just go with whatever they teach you there. The headmaster's always cool with visiting students so it'll make you feel like you're part of the class for a day." Tae Kwan said, heading downstairs with Max.

"Okay." Max replied.

"Now if you get a little nervous or frustrated with those lessons, just let them know and they'll break them down for you so you'll get used to it." Tae Kwan stated.

"Okay." Max said.

Logan tapped his foot on the ground and Tae Kwan can tell on the look at his face that he's not looking forward to this day at all and he said, "Can we get a move on, please?"

"All right, Logan. Jeez, you need to take one of those chill meds, dude." Tae Kwan stated.

Logan mocked Tae Kwan's statement and he comes up to Max and he said, "We're only letting you go with us because it was all Tae Kwan's idea...so if you do anything to embarrass me, I will personally give you a huge purple nurple and it ain't gonna be pretty. Got it?"

"Why would I embarrass you?" asked Max.

"Just do me a favor; don't be yourself. Please...don't be yourself. It gets me the most irritated." Logan stated.

Tae Kwan could tell the reason for Logan's warning was something totally different and he said, "Why is that? Afraid that Max might steal Amber away from you?"

Logan slowly turned to Tae Kwan with a little vein popping his forehead and said, "Shut...up."

"Ignore what Logan says and you'll be fine." Tae Kwan stated.

As soon as they made it to the class, Max was amazed by how it looked like in the first step and it was unlike anything he's ever seen and it was a far cry from the Jade Palace and that it didn't have nothing on this and Tae Kwan could tell Max is taking it all in and is sure that it's gonna be a great experience for him and that most of the training at the Jade Palace would be showcased in there.

"What do you think?" asked Tae Kwan.

Max chuckled softly and he said, "It's really awesome."

Just then, Logan spots that vixen coming by and he could not believe how athletically and physically strong she's being and that's the one thing attracted to her the most and he said, "Hey, Amber."

Amber looks up while doing some stretches and saw Logan there and she said, "Hey, Logan. What's up?"

"Aw, you know...just trying to limber up for today's lesson. Putting out some vibes on my strength and maybe growing some muscles a little bit." Logan replied, looking coy.

Amber chuckled softly in response and she said, "Very well put, Logan."

"That's right." Logan stated.

Tae Kwan sighed and shook his head in response to that and he looked at Max and said, "When you get to Logan's age and try to impress a girl, don't do the same thing he's doing. That just screams desperation."

Max couldn't help but see the way Logan's acting and he knows a lot better than to play it like that and said, "I won't. Like you said, I have to just be myself."

"Exactly. Flattery's nice and fine, but overdoing it...might not be the best way. Logan's got a mad crush on Amber since after that Junior Kung-Fu Tournament you entered and I think he's trying to make some moves on her since." Tae Kwan added.

"No wonder he's trying to tell me not to embarass him." Max added.

"He's embarrassing himself." Tae Kwan added.

Many seconds later, in comes the headmaster; a 35-year old silver fox wearing a orange and silver headband with a traditional martial arts robe with shaolin wraps above his knees and arms as all of the students gather around together in front of him and all the students bowed at him and the headmaster bowed back as well and he said, "Afternoon, students. Before we start off today's lesson, I understand we have a visitor to spend the day with us."

The headmaster turned to Max and called on him to introduce himself to the class and Max stands up, faces everyone and said, "Hi, I'm Maximus Bushido-Akio. My friends call me Max."

"Hello, Maximus." everyone responded.

"Another Bushido-Akio joining us...I see that Logan and Tae Kwan Do brought you here today." the headmaster said.

Max turned to the headmaster and asked, "You did?"

"Yep. Had a hunch that you're a Bushido-Akio when you came in with my two best students. Either way...it's an honor to have you with us today. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask." the headmaster said.

"Yes, sir." Max replied.

With that, Max took a seat and he was hoping that he'll get something out of this and Tae Kwan could tell that this will be an interesting day while Logan was waiting for this session to end so that he'll avoid future embarrassment. Soon enough, the headmaster said, "Today...we will learn a combination of self-defense with a form of sneak attacks. Basically, just breaking down the enemy without him or her knowing your presence."

With that, the headmaster formed the students into groups from smallest to tallest and every observed as they watched in the hopes they'll execute the lesson perfectly and Max could tell that he can pull some of those off with zero intimidation. Soon enough, the headmaster called Max to see he got in order to go up against this 12 year old bunny and when he went go, the bunny was ready to strike him and Max was up for the challenge and blocked every single punches thrown at the bunny and did a few aerial flips and did some flips, turns and dodging each punch he's gotten.

As Max began showing a couple of moves towards the class, everyone was surprised to see that coming out of the guest and Tae Kwan could tell that every move that he learned at the Jade Palace was paying off more than anything and Logan was shocked and a little bit appalled that everyone took notice.

It even impressed the headmaster that his guest is like a seasoned pro...at such a young age and he stopped the lesson right then and there and commended them both for this example and he said, "Well done to both of you."

Max and the 12 year old bunny bowed to each other in respect and went back in separate groups and as the lesson continued on, the headmaster thought it'd be a good idea to put Max's skills to the test and he called him to show him what he can do by sparring with him. Logan wasn't sure about that idea, but he's not really one to question the headmaster about anything or object to any methods he's up to.

"Now students...watch and learn." the headmaster said.

As the gong sounds, both Max and the headmaster looked at each other, bowed and got on their stances and proceeded to spar with each other and the headmaster does a few flips while Max jumps up and misses the kick and dodges every punch and kick the headmaster gives him and used every single move he can muster.

All of the students look on in awe as this little cub goes up and above with every single move and they've never seen anyone like him do that before nor take a chance on the headmaster at all and it took a huge amount of confidence to come up with some stuff like that.

The headmaster continued on giving a few punches, but Max blocked each and every punch and it seems as though they're both evenly matched based on combined strength and Max attempted some punches, kicks, flips and moves and when the headmaster resumed kicking, Max got down on the floor without even touching it and goes back to his feet and resumed the process again.

By this point, the headmaster was almost to the brink of exhaustion because he couldn't catch up with Max's intensity level of speed and the final attempt was to break out some backflip moves, but Max dodged and avoided the kick with an aerial front/backflip as he leaped towards the wall and flips abck to the ground, leaving the rest of the students looking up in awe and in complete disbelief on what they just witnessed.

The headmaster panted heavily and looked at Max and realized that this kid is not an ordinary visiting student and he said, "Looks like all of us has learned something today from our new student."

Just then, Max bowed to the headmaster and went back with Tae Kwan Do and Logan and the headmaster said, "I commend you on your skills, young man."

Minutes later, the session was over and everyone was getting ready to head home and Max realized that there were a few girls looking at him and talking to him and he just waved 'hi' to them and their response was them giggling excitedly.

"Did you see that?"

"I know! I hope that we can have him in our class soon."

"He's so cute!"

"And the headmaster said he's related to Tae Kwan Do and Logan?"

Once he caught up with Tae Kwan Do and Logan, the headmaster looks up at the cub and he said, "Where did you learn those moves?"

"At the Jade Palace." Max replied.

"Outstanding...I have a feeling about you, young man." the headmaster said.

The headmaster walks off for a second and Tae Kwan chuckled and said, "I've never seen anyone tire out the headmaster like that."

"Was that an accident?" asked Max.

"No...it wasn't. That was pretty awesome. You just laid it all out there and gave it your all with no problems." Tae Kwan added.

Max smiled at this and he was super glad that he came by to the class with his brothers and he said, "Thanks for taking me, guys."

"Happy to do so." Tae Kwan replied.

The three were ready to leave, but soon enough...Amber caught up with Logan and he said, "Hey, Logan. Your brother is like totally phenomenal! And I think he's quite the charmer for all the girls."

Logan thought of that as a little offense to know that Max attracted some girls already, but that attitude soon changed when a few other girls caught his eye and walked towards him and Amber said, "Me and my friends wanted to ask if you could hang with us on Friday?"

"Really?" asked Logan.

"Here we go again..." Tae Kwan groaned.

* * *

Looks like Max showed the entire MMA class what he does best! And it got Logan some more girls in the end...so it's a good thing. Stay tuned for more coming up!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Tae Kwan Do: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Logan: Mikey Kelley**

**Voice of Amber: Ashley Johnson**

**Voice of Headmaster: Kevin Michael Richardson**


	12. Info About Blaze

And Max goes back to check on Blaze to see how he's doing and gets to know him better.

* * *

Chapter 12: Info about Blaze

The next morning, Max walked past the bamboo forest and tried his best to remain indiscreet about where he's going and he was making his return to the cave to see Blaze for a while and maybe find out a few things about him and spend a little time with him. The last thing he needed now was to be caught by either Po, Tigress, Shifu or any of the Five because he knows that they make their journeys or go on walks from there towards parts of the Valley of Peace and he's trying his best to remain low-key as possible.

As he was walking, he felt completely empowered and confident about what happened at that MMA class and it just made him feel more free than ever before and just broke every orthodox kung-fu rules as possible and setting them on his own...yet he always wondered how the Jade Palace masters would react to this...particularly with Master Tigress and how she'll react to it; whether they take it as a positive or a negative remains to be seen. But he knows that there will be one that won't take it well...a certain angry and very jealous tiger master.

He took that focus off of what Tigress thinks as he enters in the cave and just wanted to see Blaze and when he got there, he sees Blaze's tail sticking out and wonders what would happen if he surprised him and he got closer towards the tail and yanks it.

"Whoa! Hey!" Blaze cried out.

Suddenly, Blaze turned around and saw Max right behind him and the cub waved him and Blaze chuckled at this...completely surprised that he actually came back like he said and Blaze said, "You came!"

"Of course I came! Why wouldn't I?" asked Max, smiling.

Blaze couldn't stop smiling and he gave over and gave Max a huge hug and that didn't cause him a lot of issues because they're both the same height anyway and Blaze said, "Gotta be careful with my tail though. It's kinda sensitive."

"Oh, sorry." Max said.

"It's all right. I had thought for sure you'd never come back because sometimes they say they might, but they don't really keep their word." Blaze said.

Max couldn't imagine being in that position where he'd intentionally break a promise to someone, even to one who's got their promise broken many times before and he said, "I'm not one of them."

"I can see why. Some of them who came in this cave sees me and they think it's a monster that's gonna eat them. It really bothers me a lot the way people see you as nothing but a monster. I've always believed what they thought of me...and like I said, I scare them away so I can just be alone. I don't think a dragon would fit in the Valley of Peace really well." Blaze added.

Max kept listening to everything Blaze said and he asked, "So...how did you end up here?"

"I'll be honest, I was separated from my family when I was born and I wasn't sure where they are, where I am or who I was for that matter. Growing up, I was being completely pushed away or shunned because I'm a dragon and when people see me, they think I'm out to eat their children or something like that. Why anyone would believe this, I don't know." Blaze answered.

"Maybe they read too much stories." Max answered.

Blaze chuckled softly at that and he said, "Anyways...I taught myself how to eat, drink, walk, run, crawl and fly. And I breathe fire really well...just for other stuff instead of burning things. Even when I'm not around people, they just call me 'menace' , 'danger', 'devil', 'monster', 'beast', 'deranged'...it's like I don't know who I am or what my purpose is. It led me to believe that maybe I am what they say I am and I don't want to hurt anyone...so I gave them what they wanted; to be left alone in a cave. So...I flew for a while and then this is where I've secluded myself so that no one can see this monster...and I never left since then."

After hearing Blaze's story, he couldn't find the words to say other than how sorry he feels for him and Blaze said, "Do you have any idea what it's like being alone for so many years? To have someone stereotype you as a monster or a freak? Why you're not like everybody else? If you felt the same pain I felt for so long..."

Blaze paused for a second as tears started coming out of his eyes and once it fell down to the ground, Max went over to him and said, "You're not alone on that, Blaze. I've been through the same thing you have...only 20 times worse."

"How did you recover from that?" asked Blaze, with a sniffle.

"It's kinda hard...but you can't let that affect you for the rest of your life. You just have to be surrounded by people who care about you...or at least one person who will be willing to stand by your side...through good or bad." Max answered.

Blaze looked at Max and he said, "I'm so glad you didn't listen to me when I said I didn't need any help when you pulled the thorn out of my paw. I owe you big time."

"It was nothing." Max said, being modest.

Both of them hugged each other and although their different species meant a very bad reputation, their hearts are anything but. And from that day forward, they'd be there for each other and never let anything or anyone tell them any different.

* * *

This next chapter takes about 2 weeks since the meeting where Max splits his time between spending time with Blaze and taking the MMA class.

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Blaze: (again) Ben Diskin**


	13. Routine Grind

And we go through a little montage on how Max maintains his promise to see Blaze without anyone knowing while still adapting himself to MMA class.

* * *

Chapter 13: Routine Grind

Over the next two weeks, Max spent most of his days hanging with Blaze in the cave and now that they've gotten to know each other more and more, they were ready to have some fun with each other. Max taught Blaze a few things to have fun with; from playing hide and seek to playing tag. What Max did not know is that Blaze quickly got the hang of these games and they played a little bit of exploration and the occasional pranks and hijinks. Max became a huge master of pranks, but Blaze was a huge trailblazer in playing tricks which showcased when he used his fire breath to make Max think he was on fire.

After that prank, Blaze was laughing so hard that he just rolled around the ground hysterical and Max looked at him with a glare that reads 'Really?', but couldn't be mad at him because he can take a joke really well.

Towards that, Max taught Blaze a couple of secret handshakes to ensure what happens the next time they meet each other again and Blaze was a little slow on there, but Max encouraged him to keep trying until he got the hang of it. There were moments when the dragon grew increasingly frustrated because he couldn't get it right and in some cases, the only way to let out that frustration was to roar and breathe fire when he's angry.

Max calmed him down for a second and explained to him that he has to keep trying. Although painfully stubborn, Blaze agreed to just go with it and try it again and before long, they combined the fist-bump with a high-five, low five swipe and firm handshake grip and Blaze was amazed that he actually got it right.

Max felt happy for the dragon because he didn't even give up...at least not once.

Back at home, Max was dealing with the regular stuff; babysitting the panda cubs, doing a few chores, helping out with Sierra with Arizona's supervision, hanging around the Jade Palace and attending some of the MMA classes with Tae Kwan Do and Logan. At those classes, Max completely excelled in them and everyone took partial notice...even the headmaster's student teachers as they were captivated by those super awesome moves.

At some point in that class, The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior showed up as special guests to see the process...yet they were surprised to find that Max was there and showing every single move off the book and it sent shockwaves to the masters...including Master Tigress. She had no idea that every move that he instilled in the Jade Palace would be showcased in front of many young kids. And on the inside...she was searing with fury and envy as she kept watching while the rest of them rooted him on.

Back at the cave, Max taught Blaze a few things about fighting and self-defense in kung-fu and Blaze wasn't quite sure if he would get the gist of this because he is a short, hot-tempered dragon who can virtually snap at the drop of a hat and whenever he gets a move wrong, the first instinct is to get mad and breathe fire. Max knew that the dragon's anger was just too distracting and prevented him from accomplishing those goals.

Max isn't one to give up though as he keeps on trying with every sense of persistence to teach Blaze and try to calm him down a bit during this process. Blaze ended up accidentally breathing fire, aiming at Max as he ducked out of the way. Blaze looked at what he almost did and he couldn't believe he just did that.

Meanwhile, he kept their friendship a secret because the last thing he needed was to have someone tell him he can't be friends with a dragon because they're enemies...but he knew he'd be safe around a dragon because his adopted father trained some dragons as well as traveling with them from place to place, so he's used to them.

Afterwards, they kept on learning how to fight and Blaze is starting to hang of it for a while as he sparred with Max for a while and Max has blocked and dodged some moves and punches thrown and Blaze repeated the same traits Max did and before long...Blaze has actually taught a few things about kung-fu and he looks at Max for a second and completely looks up to the guy.

With a smile, Blaze said, "I've got an awesome teacher and a friend."

Max agreed with that and he said, "Best friend."

* * *

Looks like everything's going really well for Max! Next chapter...Max and Blaze end up getting discovered that he's friends with a dragon! What will happen? You'll have to see!


	14. Being Best Friends

And we see the best of friends with these two!

* * *

Chapter 14: Being Best Friends

Later that day, Max and Blaze were laying around the grass closer to the cave, looking at the skies rolling by and just talking with each other for a while and Blaze said, "So...you really see me as your best friend?"

"Of course. What else could I consider you?" asked Max.

Blaze sighed in response and said, "I don't know. Dragons aren't supposed to make or have any friends because we'd hurt them or something like that. Dragons are well-known as monsters and fire-breathing beasts and not protectors."

"Well...I don't see it that way with you. You're kind, smart, funny, strong and you have a big heart. They probably call you that because everyone treats you like one...even though they don't see you for who you really are." Max stated.

Blaze couldn't help but wonder why Max is very comfortable with dragons around and he asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Max replied.

"Have you always been this way towards other dragons?" asked Blaze.

Max turns to the side and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean...you're not really afraid of being around dragons, flying with one and talking with one. Why is that?" asked Blaze.

Max wasn't sure if he was gonna bring this up or respond to that answer and he said, "Let's just say it's not the first time I've hung out with a dragon. My dad has got traveling dragons for trips when we fly places."

"Wow...there are more dragons besides me?" asked Blaze, amazed.

"Yeah, there is." Max stated.

Blaze chuckled in response to that and he said, "That's awesome, man. I hope I could meet them someday."

"Maybe you can." Max said.

Blaze chuckled softly and he turned to Max and he asked, "So...you're not afraid of dragons?"

"Nope. Not really." Max answered.

Both of them started laughing with each other and Max said, "I'm sure you're friends with tigers too."

"No. I've actually never been around tigers before, let alone be friends with one. Sometimes...I keep hearing rumors that tigers are killers and they don't have the best reputation." Blaze stated.

Max rolled his eyes in response to that and he said, "Some parts are true...but we're actually not as dangerous as everyone else thinks. I know I'm a white tiger, but I don't have to be a dangerous one so I need to remain as I am; just friendly, nice, sweet, kind and also cool at the same time, but not too cool."

"Why do they always say so much negative things about our different species?" asked Blaze.

"I wish I knew. Some people think that both tigers and dragons are beasts who are nothing more than killers and predators. I think that's just a bunch of horse crap." Max responded.

Blaze snickered at that particular label and he said, "You're right about that."

Max climbed onto the dragon's back and Blaze looked up for a bit and then Max said, "What's it like to fly?"

"Like...being free. You don't have to be told what to do and no one stops you. Whenever I spread my wings, I just go wherever life takes me." Blaze responded.

"That's very deep." Max said.

Suddenly, Blaze's ears perked up as he heard some rustling sounds coming through the bushes and asked, "What was that?"

"I don't know." Max replied.

Both of them braced themselves for what's happening and who's coming and Blaze was ready to instill those moves Max taught him while Max kept himself a little bit on edge and soon enough...he sees Tigress, Mako, Reiko, Samurai, Sage, Po, Musaki, Arizona, Logan, Tae Kwan Do, Mantis, Monkey, Phoenix and Summer coming out of nowhere and Max was shocked to see them standing there...but he saw their reaction when they found out that he's with a dragon.

"Max..." Arizona said, breathless.

"I am so screwed." Max said, completely mortified.

* * *

Caught! Now what happens? That's where the drama unfolds! Stay tuned!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Blaze: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Hebert**

**Voice of Reiko: Tress MacNeille**

**Voice of Samurai: Jason Marsden**

**Voice of Sage: Josh Keaton**

**Voice of Po: Mick Wingert**

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Logan: Mikey Kelley**

**Voice of Tae Kwan Do: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Mantis: Max Koch**

**Voice of Monkey: James Sie**

**Voice of Phoenix: James Arnold Taylor**

**Voice of Summer: Kelly Hu**


	15. Discovered!

And that's where the drama begins and Max defends his friendship by...who else?

* * *

Chapter 15: Discovered!

Max had no idea what he's gonna do now that this is being found out almost immediately and Blaze looked at them and asked, "Do you know these guys?"

"Yeah. These are my family and friends." Max replied.

"Which one?" asked Blaze.

"Well...these are my parents; my adopted dad, adopted stepmom, my cousins and my brothers and everyone else are from the Jade Palace. Guys, this is Blaze...my best friend." Max replied.

Mako walked over to the dragon and he came closer to him, which made Blaze a little nervous because he didn't know what's he gonna do, but the minute Mako touched his paw very gently, he suddenly felt calm towards him and Mako looked at Max for a second and he said, "How did you know this guy?'

"Well...we've met in this cave about...2 weeks ago while I was playing hide and seek with my brothers and I guess we split in different places in the forest to find places to hide and I wasn't gonna go to the usual spots where Logan would easily find me...so I went to the cave loking for a few places to hide until I heard someome roar out of nowhere. So I went to investigate and that's where I met and found Blaze. I could tell he was in pain, but there was just a little thorn on his paw so I took it out for him and the rest is history." Max replied.

Blaze looked at the others and at Mako and he showed him the bandaged paw to prove that it's all true and he said, "If it wasn't for Max, it could've went a lot worse."

"Always the one with a selfless act of duty." Logan sneered.

"Now, boys...don't hold it against Max that he did the right thing." Reiko said, very sternly.

Samurai went towards Max and said, "Why didn't you tell us then?"

"Well...I was kinda worried that you guys might judge him and give out the wrong idea about Blaze." Max answered.

That surprised most of the family members and Musaki asked, "What would make you think that? You saving his life and all, there's really no way to harbor any negative thoughts about it."

"I kinda kept our friendship a secret because sometimes...I was afraid that you guys might say dragons and tigers can't be friends." Max added.

"And you're right. They shouldn't be, but your foolish selflessness got in the way!" Tigress spat out.

Blaze didn't take that very lightly and he crawled towards her and said, "You can't talk to Max like that!"

"How do we know you're not a killer?" Tigress shot back.

Max did not like what Tigress just said to him and he walked towards her, defending Blaze and he said, "That's enough! Take it back."

"No!"

"Take back what you said!" Max growled.

"He's a menace, Max! You shouldn't trust him!" Tigress snarled.

Max could tell that this was typical of Tigress to criticize someone so harshly and he said, "You don't know him like I know him. He's the best friend I've ever had and I'm not willing to listen to anything you say about him because they're not true."

"Are you calling me a liar, little cub?" asked Tigress, gritting her teeth.

Soon enough, Samurai got in the middle of it and he said, "Let's end this before someone gets hurt. The last thing we need is a repeat of Tigress trying to harm Max after an accident at the village."

Tigress grew increasingly frustrated over that and asked, "Why do you keep bringing it up?!"

Max had no desire to fight her back anyway and he walks over to Blaze and said, "I'm so sorry about what Tigress said. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"How are you still around him?!" Tigress screamed.

"Silent!" Mako shouted.

Tigress froze for a second after being told to be silent by Mako and her fist tightened up quickly and had every mind to punch Mako in the face and she said, "You don't tell me to be silent!"

"Watch how you talk to my husband, missy." Reiko said, very sternly with her finger wagging at her.

Logan can tell that this is what happens when one of them talks back to their stepmom and he muttered, "She gave Tigress the finger."

"The finger wag. She means business." Sage muttered.

Mantis hopped onto Tigress' shoulder and he said, "Back down now, please. The last thing you want is to have a slapfight with someone's mom."

"She has no right to talk to me that way, Mantis." Tigress growled.

"Just like you have no right to talk about Max and his new buddy?" asked Po, quite suddenly.

Everyone looked up at Po after uttering what he just said and Tigress turned to Po and couldn't believe that he defended Max and his dragon friend and she asked, "Say that again?"

"Listen, Tigress...if Max is cool with the dragon, we should do the same. You can't talk smack about strangers like that and they're both kids. Can we at least let Max explain why he didn't tell any of us?" asked Po.

Although visibly seething, Tigress felt that Po had a valid point as to why he didn't tell everyone else yet and she turned to him while still growling at him and said, "You have a quick second to come up with an explanation as to why I should not put you in your early grave."

"That's fighting words, you cowardly bully!" Blaze exclaimed.

"Blaze! Let me handle it." Max stated.

Blaze was obviously very angry at Tigress making a threatening statement to his friend, but he doesn't want to make a scene in front of everyone and he turned to Max and said, "All right. But don't think I'm gonna hold back because I'm gonna kick this tiger's butt!"

* * *

What's happening? You wanna know what happens afterwards? The next chapter will explain all.

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Blaze: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Hebert**

**Voice of Logan: Mikey Kelley**

**Voice of Reiko: Tress MacNeille**

**Voice of Samurai: Jason Marsden**

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Sage: Josh Keaton**

**Voice of Mantis: Max Koch**

**Voice of Po: Mick Wingert**


	16. Max Tells All

And Max tells everything and what does the end result bring?

* * *

Chapter 16: Max Tells All

Max clears his throat and looks at everyone excluding Tigress' angry killer look and gives his answer as to why he didn't tell anyone else yet and he said, "I kinda didn't want to tell you guys about this because you'd react the same way Tigress did and everything she said...you guys might've sided with her. I was gonna tell you when the time was right. So...for 2 weeks, I kept it a secret in between spending time at home, the Jade Palace, kickboxing class and when I have free time, I'd sneak out of the house or the Jade Palace to check on my dragon buddy and most of the time, he'd drop me off at the palace roof because I didn't want to cause a stir to the entire village when they see a dragon fly there."

Everyone looked at Blaze and the dragon knew that he spoke the truth and he nodded his head in response and he said, "I had no idea what real friendship was at first...until Max came along. He's an amazing person that I've met...in all my years of being alone in a cave for so long."

"How old are you, by the way?" asked Samurai.

"12." Blaze replied.

The reaction was full of shock and realization that this was a kid dragon and Mako asked, "Where are your parents?"

"I don't remember having them. I got separated from them when I was an egg." Blaze replied.

Mostly everyone couldn't believe that Blaze never saw or knew who his parents were and Samurai said, "So...you've been alone all your life?"

"Yeah. Mostly on purpose because I've been called 'beast', 'monster', 'demon' and things like that because they believe all dragons are evil. So...I let them believe that they are what they say they are...kinda like what that angry tiger dude said." Blaze stated.

Max could tell that he was referring to Tigress and just gave out a semi-cold stare and said to her, "This is why I never tell you anything because no matter what I do or say, you always go against it...because you think I'm too small or just too young to accomplish anything! You always tear me down, make me feel like I'm worthless and that I'll never amount to anything. I guess that's what you like to do; write me off and make me feel like I'm gonna be a failure...like you're gonna watch me fall while you stand there, making that disgusting smirk on your face and say, 'Next time, you'll think before you 'steal' my family away from me'. You think I wanted to compete against you because of who's position I'm taking? That's just ridiculous! I would never, ever steal your family, friends and position away from you! But you let your jealousy get in the way of it and you wanted to harm me on purpose so you'd keep your title! I know I'm a kid, but I've been told that I can do big things too and everyone else believes in me...except for you. Face it...it's all you'll ever do anyway. You're just gonna keep belittling me and belittling me until there's no one left to belittle. And if you think me being friends with a dragon is a bad thing, that's your opinion. And if he's whatever you call him, so am I."

Max had finally stood up to Tigress and stood beside Blaze and not once...did everyone move or said a word after that, other than look at Max and realize that he's gotten a lot wiser than he originally was when he was younger, but has gotten much more stronger and loyal than that and he made one last look at Tigress and said, "Before you tear someone down, find out who they're really all about."

Blaze came over to Max and hugged him tightly after that and he said, "No one has ever stood up for me before."

"I just don't like it when someone tries to underestimate or judge someone when they don't even know who they really are." Max replied.

Monkey walks over to Max and he was still in awe and Po, Mantis, Samurai, Mako, Logan, Tae Kwan Do, Arizona, Musaki and Summer stood beside these two and Monkey said, "You stood up to Tigress. Not all of us could do what you did without taking a risk on being beaten up by her."

"Someone had to tell her the truth...the real truth. And it might as well be me." Max stated.

"Okay...can I just say I've never been this proud of you before, Max?" asked Musaki.

Arizona was still on a verge of shock and awe that he actually stood up to Tigress in front of everyone and he said, "You stood your ground, Max."

"Okay...all the stuff about you not being cool and all? I take it all back." Logan stated.

With that, Max climbed on top of Blaze and walked out of there with everyone else but Tigress following behind him and headed back to the Valley of Peace and Tigress said, "Where do you think you're all going?"

"We're gonna show the village that not all dragons are as they think they are. And if you try to stop us...good luck with that." Max replied.

Tigress was shocked that Max had to absoulte nerve to stand up to her the way he did and Po was right behind them as well...provoking more shock to her and asked, "You too, Po?"

Po lets out a deep sigh and he turned to Tigress and said, "Well...Max does have a point. All the things he said to you reminds me of the first night as the Dragon Warrior at the Jade Palace and although I didn't stand up to you at that time, I wished I would've had that courage to do the same thing to you."

After that, Po walked away...leaving Tigress in a mixture of shock and complete humiliation that she's mistreated Max all those years and each time she's tried to write him off, he always comes back swinging and with all the words he said to her, she fell on her knees and couldn't believe that everyone, including half of her comrades actually followed Max and it was like parts of her pride are shattered and broken and the little cub was the one person that completely underestimated her instead of her underestimating him and this was one of those what goes around comes all the way back around moments.

"Maximus..." Tigress said, with a shaky yet whispered tone.

* * *

But the drama between the two tigers is just fired up! Stay tuned!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Blaze: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Samurai: Jason Marsden**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Hebert**

**Voice of Monkey: James Sie**

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Logan: Mikey Kelley**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Po: Mick Wingert**


	17. Dragon in the Valley

The next bold step for Max...bring Blaze in the Valley of Peace to let the villagers know that not all dragons are the same ones they always hear in fables or stories.

* * *

Chapter 17: Dragon in the Valley

Mere minutes went by and they made their way back to the Valley of Peace...but for some reason, Blaze felt a little nervous about going in there because there are many villagers walking around and stuff and he's worried that he might cause a stir with everyone because he's a dragon. Blaze looked at Max and said, "I don't know if I can go through with this."

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. You're not really that big, you know." Max stated.

Blaze looked at Max with a little glare on his face that made him think he might've gone there a little bit and said, "No...but please don't joke about my size."

Mako placed his paw on Blaze's side and he said, "Do not worry. You will be fine...I promise you."

Blaze wasn't exactly sure if he can take Mako's word for it, but if he's willing to go through this...there's no reason to doubt him and he took a deep breath and he said, "Okay. I'll go for it."

With that, they all walked back to the Valley of Peace and as they were heading into town, Max was keeping an eye out in case someone tries to put the whole village in a panic and patted Blaze's head for support and as they faced the entire crowd, they saw that they were staring at the dragon and wasn't sure why it's there.

Blaze looked at them and he looked completely nervous and didn't know what to do, yet the villagers saw Max on top of its head and one kid said, "Is that a dragon?"

Mako came over to the villagers and he said, "Fear not...he comes in peace."

Before long, Max got off of the dragon and he looks at everyone in the eye and he said, "This is my very best friend...Blaze. We brought him over to the village to show you guys that he's not likeany other dragon you guys imagine or thought of. Don't believe anything you ever heard about in stories because this one isn't one of them."

"How do we know that he won't burn our homes and our families?" one villager asked.

"Or kill us?" asked another villager.

Max could tell that he's been questioned by the villagers, but he's not gonna give up based on opinion and he replied, "Why don't you guys get closer to him and see for yourself?"

All the villagers fell silent after Max asked that question and some of the children walked towards Blaze, looking at him and when they looked him in the eye, one of them could tell that he's not as dangerous and Max encouraged that kid to pet him and once the kid pet him softly, Blaze's nervous level dropped down a little bit and he nuzzled the kid and soon enough...more children patted the dragon and that was a huge turning point in his life.

The other villagers were in shock and in awe that the kids took a liking to the dragon and there were no signs of aggression and dangerous threat towards him and Po, Mantis and Monkey encouraged most of the villagers to do the same and take not only Max's example...but all the kids' example and soon enough, Blaze was amazed by what just occured.

"Wow..." Blaze whispered.

"The entire village has gotten your back. All we have to do is change what we all think." Max stated.

"MAXIMUS BUSHIDO-AKIO!"

Suddenly, Max looks up and sees a very furious Tigress coming back in the village to see Blaze standing there and from the looks of things, this could be a problem.

"Seriously?!" Max exclaimed.

* * *

Aw, great! Now Tigress comes back to gain payback! Tiger vs. tiger cub round 2 is coming up! You don't wanna miss it!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Blaze: (also Ben Diskin)**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Herbert**

**Voices of villagers: Sumalee Montano, Steven Blum, Kath Soucie, Fred Tatasciore, Nolan North, Cree Summer**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**


	18. Standing Up for What's Right

And here's where it stands; Tigress vs. Max. And somehow...Blaze is in the middle as Tigress' pride, jealousy and wrath is exposed to everyone.

* * *

Chapter 18: Standing Up for What's Right

Tigress was furious as he came face to face with Max again and her fury started to make Blaze go on edge and he wouldn't dare to fight her in front of everyone because they'll think he's a menace again and did everything he can to keep his cool and Max got off of him for a second to come back and face her and he said, "You just can't listen to me...even for one second, don't you?"

"You have absolutely no right to bring him to the village!" Tigress shouted.

"Can we talk about this where there's no one around...again? Because this is really unnecessary." Max stated, gritting his teeth very calmly.

"Don't you tell me what's necessary or not! You think all of those words you told me are true?! I can't believe you've turned my own comrades against me! I knew you'd take my family away from me!" Tigress screamed.

"That's a lie! I told you...I would not now nor would I ever steal your family away from you! I already got my own!" Max argued.

Samurai couldn't stand to see this slugfest between the two of them and he said, "This has gone too far and you're starting to act unreasonable!"

"You shut yout mouth!" Tigress growled.

"Hey! You don't talk to my son like that! Both of our sons, matter of fact! Who the hell do you think you are, talking to both of them like that?!" Mako exclaimed.

All the villagers were completely surprised to see Mako stand off against Tigress and they were a little apprehensive about what's happening next because most of them are a little aware of Tigress' quick temper and are a little afraid for Mako...but Mako isn't one bit scared to stand up to her and he said, "You can talk smack about your comrades and your master all you want...but if you ever talk that way about and or towards my family, you're in deep trouble."

"I'm just keeping the Valley safe from this...this...monster!" Tigress spat out.

Once the 'M' word hit, Blaze could tell that it struck him in the heart and there was nothing he wanted more than to take her down...but after gaining some newfound trust in the village kids, he can't place them at risk on seeing him get angry in front of everyone...so he remained calm no matter what. Max, on the other hand...wasn't gonna have it and he said, "That's very ironic, what you just said."

"What's ironic about it?" asked Tigress.

"You called him the 'M' word in front of everyone...but they way you said it, you're a hypocrite! People called you that word when you were my age and you let them believe it and you still believe it! nd for you to say that to Blaze's face...what are you trying ro prove right now? That because you want to pick on someone that you don't know and try to tear them down...that makes you cooler and more stronger? That makes you stupid! Not to mention...someone who loves to hate everyone." Max exclaimed.

Tigress could tell that those words completely stung her back in more ways than none and she said, "Watch your mouth, Max."

"You watch yours too. Blaze may be a dragon...but he's my best friend! I don't give a rat's tail on everything you say because all of that is a big lie." Max stated, with huge venom on his voice.

Po and Monkey looked at each other for a second and realized that he pushed a button on Tigress and Monkey muttered, "20 almond cookies to say Tigress beats him."

"25 to say he strikes back." Po muttered.

"30."

"35."

"75."

"200."

Tigress exhaled sharply as he looked at Max in the eye with a very dangerous glare on her face and said, "Take...that...back."

Max folded his arms with a very serious look on his face and said, "You're gonna have to make me."

All the villagers exclaimed in response to that and Tigress unsheathed her claws and she said, "Last chance...get that dragon out of our valley."

"No." Max replied, sharply.

She knew that Max defied her on purpose and that he's still willing to go against her and to defend his dragon friend, no matter the circumstances. She growled and said, "I swear...I'm gonna put you on your grave, Maximus! And for taking all my comrades away from me! They betrayed me because of you!"

"Hold on here! We have not betrayed you!" Monkey exclaimed.

"TRAITOR! You're traitors and liars! And I knew from the minute you sided with Max that you'd go against your own leader!" Tigress shouted.

"Of all the things you'll ever say to us, we are not traitors to you! Not now and not ever!" Po exclaimed, angrily.

Samurai knew this was not gonna end well and with Musaki and Arizona's assitance, they stepped into the middle of this and Musaki said to Tigress, "Stop now before you'll do something you'll regret for the rest of your life!"

"Back off, Musaki! I'm gonna teach Max a lesson the hard way!" Tigress shouted.

Arizona wasn't gonna let that happen at all and he blocked Max out of the way and he said, "If you're going after my brother, you'll have to come through me!"

"And me!" Musaki stated.

"And me!" Samurai exclaimed.

"And us too!" Mako and Reiko shouted.

Summer, Phoenix, Sage, Logan and Tae Kwan Do stepped towards them and they said, "And us too!"

Monkey, Po and Mantis formed a chain of protection towards Max and took their side as well and Tigress was mortified that they'd actually do this and Monkey said, "Sorry, Tigress...but you left us no other option."

Tigress could feel her anger starting to bubble up and explode and that's when it happened...she completely lost it and attacked her comrades, most of the Bushido-Akio family before getting to Max, but Blaze grabbed him by the tail and placed him on his back and said, "Hold on!"

"I'm holding on!" Max exclaimed.

* * *

And the action begins! What's gonna happen next? You'll find out!

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Samurai: Jason Marsden**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Herbert**

**Voice of Po: Mick Wingert**

**Voice of Monkey: James Sie**

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Reiko: Tress MacNeille**

**Voice of Summer: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Phoenix: James Taylor Anrold**

**Voice of Sage: Josh Keaton**

**Voice of Logan: Mikey Kelley**

**Voice of Tae Kwan Do: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Mantis: Max Koch**

**Voice of Blaze: (also) Ben Diskin**


	19. Tiger Against Tiger Cub

And the versus keeps getting bigger and the action gets more crazier as Tigress' jealous rage goes next level!

* * *

Chapter 19: Tiger Against Tiger Cub

As soon as Max hopped onto Blaze's back, both of them started running out with Tigress chasing after them in a huge rage and as they departed from the Valley, Blaze opened up his wings and flew out of there and Tigress was still going after them on foot and Blaze looked down and he asked Max, "Is she always like this?"

"Not in front of everyone. But of all the times I've seen her angry, I have never seen her like this." Max stated.

"Well...it's a good thing that I can fly. That way, she won't get to us." Blaze said, with a chuckle.

Max kept that hope in agreement...but he also knows that Tigress is always one to never be outsmarted by anyone, especially a tiger cub and as he looks down, he sees her climbing towards the trees to get to them and said, "Kinda spoke too soon."

Tigress leapt up in the air, getting to Max and trying to grab the dragon, but with each chance she got, she missed and Blaze was shocked to see that she's not giving up without a fight and he said, "Is she crazy?"

"How can she do that?" asked Max.

"We gotta get away from her as fast as possible." Blaze stated, in a panic.

With that, the only option was to fly higher and higher until they reach the clouds and as they were flying, Max looks down to see if there's any sign of Tigress anywhere and luckily, it's all clear and he started panting heavily and then looks to the left just in case and he said, "It's all clear."

Blaze did a second check to make sure as he looked down and he received a shock and he saw Tigress' paw grabbing onto his paw and the minute he saw her face, it was a full-on scary furious look and Blaze quickly looked up and lets out a big gulp and said, "I think we got a stowaway."

"What?" Max asked.

"And she's really angry." Blaze finished off.

Without warning, Tigress leapt on top of the dragon with her claws coming out and Max looked completely mortified as to what happens next and he said, "You can't fight me!"

"Yes, I can...and I WILL!" Tigress shouted.

"I mean...you can't fight me when we're like a thousand feet off the ground." Max stated.

Tigress didn't really care about Max's warning because all she wanted to do was to knock him out hard and she said, "You're gonna learn exactly how to stay away from my place...and from the people I care about!"

"But trying to hurt a cub?! How is that gonna solve your problem?!" Max shouted.

"Very simple." Tigress said, coming close to him.

Max could tell what she was about to do and that she was really gonna do this and Max looks down and realizes the intention and he said, "Don't do this."

"I'm done listening to you." Tigress said, with a growl.

And just like that, she shoved him out of Blaze and falls to the ground and Blaze gasped in shock as he heard Max scream and he looked at Tigress and asked, "Are you out of your mind?! You're gonna kill him!"

"He deserves it!" Tigress shouted.

Blaze flew down from the clouds and goes after Max and while he saw Max free-falling, he swifts into action and said, "Grab onto my scales!"

Max tried his best to get closer to him and he reached in and grabbed his head instead and that got him back on Blaze's back...but unfortunately, Tigress is still there and she swiped him several times and with each swipe, Max missed. But he was also concerned for all three of their safety and she said, "Tigress, you've got to stop this! This is not worth getting revenge!"

"I'm gonna keep coming at you until I leave you black, blue and bloody." Tigress said, growling.

"You're a kung-fu master! You're not supposed to do these things! Especially when we're the same species! What will everyone else think if they see you like this?!" Max shouted.

"That I'm doing the right thing...to get my comrades back! And to get back at them for listening to you!" Tigress screamed, in dangerous anger.

"That's bullcrap!" Blaze stated.

Tigress scratched Blaze's side, causing him to roar in pain and spurting out fire out of his mouth and Max could tell that she's taking this too far and said, "STOP THIS NOW!"

"NEVER!" Tigress screamed.

Before long, Blaze flew all the way back to the skies and headed towards another forest closer from the Valley of Peace and dived head and nose first and rolled around until he reached the entrance to the Valley. Both tigers popped out of there and Max went over to see if he's okay and he asked, "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Blaze said, with a grunt.

Just then, Musaki comes over quickly to see if they're all okay and when he looked at Blaze, he could see claw marks on his side and he could tell that Tigress really put a number on him and he quickly came over to his side, placed his paw on the clawed side and quickly healed it. Max looks at the spot where Tigress clawed him and it faded away faster and he said, "I am so glad your healing powers have helped."

"If he means that much to you, Max...we ain't gonna stand in your way." Musaki stated.

Tigress was still furious and it completely increased in complete predator beast mode and she said, "I would."

"You ain't getting anywhere near him, Tigress. It's one thing to take it out on villains and bad guys and training equipment...but never take it out on a kid." Musaki said, with warning.

"Shut up, Musaki. This has nothing to do with you." Tigress said, snarling.

She looked at Max with a hint of hatred in her eyes and got on four paws and attacked him, but Max ran away before she could even get to him and the minute he was gone, Tigress was undeterred by the consequences she'll face as she ran behind him.

Musaki panted breathlessly because he knew that she's serious about this and wanted to stop her before she'll go beserk and that she'll risk on being the label that she's been stuck with for 2 decades...as a monster and he doesn't want that to happen and he hopped on Blaze and said, "We gotta save Max. This jealousy she has got for Max has gone too far this time."

"Right behind ya!" Blaze shouted.

Soon enough, Arizona, Summer, Samurai, Logan, Tae Kwan Do, Mako, Po, Monkey and Mantis went aboard to not only save Max, but stop Tigress from herself before it's too late and with that, Blaze flew back to the village to keep an eye on things.

* * *

The biggest action fight between Tigress and Max will commence! Stay tuned!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Blaze: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**


	20. Danger Jealous Rage

And the jealous rage Tigress has for Max goes to an all-time danger zone!

* * *

Chapter 20: Danger Jealous Rage

Max kept running as fast as he could to lose Tigress and once he heard that roar, he could tell that she's geting closer to him and as she gained on him, he ran as fast as he could to lose her, but Tigress wasn't gonna let this go and she said, "I'll get you for defying me, Maximus!"

"I'm still not gonna fight you!" Max spat out.

"Why's that?! Too cowardly to deal with a monster like me?!" Tigress shouted.

"No...I just don't wanna fight you in this way!" Max replied.

Max kept running from place to place to lose sight of her, but once he heard all the carts and wooden stuff crash down, he was definitely fearful of her fury coming in hot and heavy and he kept on running as fast as he could until he saw Tigress in front of her with her claws coming out and in a bold move...he slid down underneath her legs to avoid getting hit by and kept running.

Tigress looked behind and noticed that he actually slid underneath her legs and missed and she growled at herself for not getting him quickly and said, "Not gonna fail this time!"

Max panted heavily and Reiko couldn't bear to see her adopted son in danger and as he kept running, she wanted to stop Tigress once and for all and when she got in her way, Tigress' blind anger completely overtook her and she clawed, punched and threw Reiko out of the way, leaving her punched, bruised and bloody at the same time and she never thought that Tigress would be that serious to do that kind of thing.

"Max..." Reiko said, breathlessly.

Max saw what Tigress did to his adopted stepmom and that didn't sit well with him, but he can't fight her back because it would add more fuel to the fire and he kept running until he reached the steps of the Jade Palace. He was a little unsure of whether he could keep moving or go to another section where the masters won't see Tigress go crazy, but there was no time to think.

He ran all across the steps of the Jade Palace to get to safety and soon enough, he finally made it and just climbed towards the rooftop, hoping that Tigress won't find him there...but what he didn't expect as that Tigress could see him from over there and at that moment, he knew he was caught.

"Oh man...who's bright idea was it to make those thousand steps anyway?!" Max exclaimed.

Before long, Tigress climbed up to the roof and her blind anger was semi-exhausted, but it still remained the minute she looked at Max and she was definitely capable of going above the furious level with her harsh jealousy weighing in. Tigress slowly walked towards him and said, "You don't deserve to live."

"Tigress...this has to end now. And I'm not talking about just your jealousy towards me. But trying to kill me. This doesn't have to end like this." Max said, fearfully.

"Shut up! I've had enough out of you! From the minute you came to our Valley, everyone always gave you attention...like you're the Golden Child of the Jade Palace! Day in and day out of my life...you came and stole every spotlight that I was in and you always hang around the Five and Po and Master Shifu! Those are MY family! My friends! My comrades! And you have the nerve to come here and say you're better than me with everything you do!" Tigress spat out.

"What does that have to do with Blaze?!" asked Max.

"I told you that you can't bring the dragon to the village! Did you even think about what would've happened if you let him in our home?! He could kill us! Torture us! Destroy our home with fire! I'm just doing what's best for the Valley!" Tigress screamed.

"He's not as dangerous as you think he is! He could never hurt anyone or anything! You just scared him!" Max shouted.

"And you have the nerve to defend him?! I'm not gonna stand for your optimistic attitude anymore!" Tigress shouted.

"There's nothing you can do about it anyway! Just give it up and leave me and Blaze alone! Your comrades didn't turn against you because of me! You did that to yourself!" Max spat out.

That was the straw that completely broke the camel's back for her and her intensity levels completely increased to the maximum and she said, "You dare blame me?!"

"I don't wanna fight you. And I know you can't do the same." Max stated.

Her heart indeed said to end this now before she'll regret it, but her pride refused to listen up and with that...her anger went and consumed her whole and took control of it and she said, "This is what you'll get...your end!"

Tigress ran towards him and just sucker-punched Max straight to the face and in that moment, Max knew he was no match for her and she just punched, kicked, beat up, claw, scratched, pinned him down and threw him across the roof for ultimate revenge to get her jealousy out and afterwards, Max was bleeding, injured and bruised all over and the final act...she grabbed his neck and squeezed it tightly as Max was choking and finally...she went in and unsheathed her claws to claw him down for good and Tigress lets out an angry roar as she got ready.

"MAXIMUS!"

All of a sudden, Po jumps out of nowhere and punches Tigress out of the way and once she was down, Tigress couldn't believe what just happened and that he actually defended Max and she was still angry at Max and Po looked at her and said, "Tigress! This has to stop! You're gonna lose every inch of yourself if you keep this up!"

"This has no concern to you, Po! This is between me and Max." Tigress exclaimed.

"Look at yourself! You were about to kill a harmless, innocent, vulnerable cub all because he brought a dragon here that didn't do anything to deserve this other than be his best friend! What are you trying to prove?!" Po shouted.

"That he should know his place." Tigress said.

"He's 10 years old! You can't punish him for this!" Po pleaded.

Tigress shoved him out of the way and walked over to Max and grabbed him by the neck and she said, "Now you see what it feels like to have the people you care about taken away from you because someone else got in the way! Now...you're gonna learn how I fet when you walked in!"

Tigress was ready to kill him for reals and she clawed him down and punched him down, falling out of the roof and as she watched him fall...in comes Blaze, grabbing him by the tail and fly out of there, thus saving Max from death. Tigress' fury wasn't going away and she was gonna attack him again until...

Crane swooped in and stopped her along with Mantis, Po, Monkey and Viper stopping her from all of this and Mantis said, "It's not worth it!"

"Get off of me! I'll kill that brat!" Tigress roared.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

A very infuriated Master Shifu popped out of nowhere and stopped this, but Tigress' fury was still there and she did the unthinkable...she clawed and knocked out her own master and the minute she knocked him down...Blaze stopped in and brought Max down and Viper said, "Are you okay?"

Everyone else circled around him to see if he was okay and Max was still breathing a little bit and Tigress wasn't finished with him yet and she grabbed him by the claw and it dug deep into his shoulder, causing Max to scream in pain and all of them were in fear as to what happened next and Max looked at Tigress with a huge wide eyed expression and from the time a tear fell out of Max's face...that was enough to stop her and realize what she was almost gonna do to him.

She released him and looked at her paws...merely bloody as hell because she viciously attacked a young cub that did nothing to deserve this and no one even dared to say anything and after this...she realized she also knocked down Master Shifu too and as soon as the others came in, Arizona said to her, "I told you that you were gonna go too far with Max."

"I...I...what have I done?" Tigress said, in shock.

Max was still beaten up, but is still alive as he got up with his entire body in rips, beat marks and claw marks as he looked at Tigress and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Tigress backed away and just ran all the way back inside the Jade Palace while everyone else is standing there and Arizona said, "Get Max some medical treatment."

"Right away." Viper said.

Blaze exhaled sharply based after all the events that happened here and didn't really know what to say other than he's hoping that Max will be okay.

* * *

And this is what happens when Tigress' jealousy goes way out of control and look at the consequences it could bring. Will Tigress make this right? Stay tuned!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Reiko: Tress MacNeille**

**Voice of Po: Mick Wingert**

**Voice of Shifu: Fred Tatasciore**

**Voice of Viper: Lucy Liu**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**


	21. Friendship Still Stands

And the aftermath stands firm in two lines; Blaze and Max's friendship growing strong and in the midst of it...Tigress gets herself in trouble for her actions. But was there a motive?

* * *

Chapter 21: Friendship Still Stands

A couple of minutes later, Max was laying down on a hospital bed with Blaze standing beside him with worry and concern in his face and as he was laying there almost lifelessly, Blaze lowered his ears down a little bit and said, "Max...if I had known you'd taken a beating to defend me...I wished I would've done something."

Max grunted softly as he slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a room and lets out a few slow breaths and he turned around to see Blaze right beside him and said, "Hey, B."

Blaze perked his ears and turned around to see Max awake and he could not be more joyful to see him okay and he said, "Max! You're all right!"

The first thing he did is hug him tightly and Max grunts in pain and said, "Blaze...injury here."

The dragon released him and placed him back in bed and he said, "Sorry. It's just...I'm so happy to see you're still alive."

"Of course I'm still alive. But...how did I get here?" asked Max.

"Some snake took you over to this place and wrapped you in some sort of paper all over your body. I thought for sure they tortured you, but...I noticed the same wraps you placed on my foot earlier...so I wasn't that fired up." Blaze replied.

Max chuckled softly as he sat up, despite groaning a little bit and he said, "Where's everyone else?"

Suddenly, Max and Blaze heard some shouting and arguing coming from the hallway and Blaze replied, "Guess that answers that question."

* * *

In the hallway...

"Have you lost your mind already?! What the hell were you thinking, Tigress?!" Shifu shouted.

"I don't know what I was thinking, Shifu! I've never been stood up like the way Max stood up to me, especially in front of Mantis, Monkey and Po. It's just embarrassing to have him strip everything about me down and the fact that he'd go this further to defend that dragon friend of his...I wanted to do what was right for the Valley!" Tigress exclaimed.

"By merely murdering our brother?!" Logan spat out.

"Logan!" Mako exclaimed, in a hushed tone.

Once the word 'murder' spat out of Logan's mouth, it just affected her hard and regarding the situation that just happened, she just felt a huge amount of remorse and guilt for all of this and Musaki walked in front of her...although visibly angry, he asked her in a calm voice, "Why didn't you just stop?"

"How could I? I let my temper get the best of me and I nearly got Max killed." Tigress said.

"But was that the way to solve the problem? Why did you let your jealousy get in front of you when there was nothing to be jealous about in the first place?" asked Musaki.

"I don't know! All I wanted was for Max to feel the same pain I felt when I was picked on at the orphanage when I was young and see how that would affect him the same way it affected me! I'm sick of his positive happiness!" Tigress shouted.

"But that's not the real reason why you did it, isn't it? Maybe the reason why you did is because you think that because of what Max went through when he was younger and that he's come out of it a stronger person and you haven't gotten over your situation that's still eating you alive. And due to his personality, you want to try everything you can to destroy it so he can feel the same way you're feeling." Musaki stated.

Tigress froze for a second after Musaki ended up figuring her out and once he did, she couldn't come with a response to disagree with that because she knew it was true and Po said, "I don't know how I could even respond to that."

"In any event, it should not have happened." Mako stated.

"Why would you hold a bitter grudge against my tiger brother? I thought we'd gotten over that." Arizona said, angrily.

"Because he got all the attention from all of you and I get nothing. I only get attention the only way I knew how; by snapping at everyone. You think I like doing this to everyone? I can't even control my anger nor can I control myself! That's why I push people away...so they wouldn't see me like this! And because that I'm weak!" Tigress shouted.

As everyone stood in silence, Tae Kwan Do was the first one to speak out about this and he said, "You know...our master at our kickboxing class said that sometimes it is important to conceal your feelings in battle, but don't do that in life because you'll push everyone away in a stone wall. Those that stay in that stone wall can't get themselves out...even if someone tries to pull you out. The more suffering you bring to everyone, you'll suffer too and you won't be able to get out of it or overcome it."

"As far as I know, you're not the weakest link here. You just need some help in controlling yourself. You can't let anything about yourself hold you back. If you do that, it'll make it harder on yourself and that you won't be able to live a really good life and you'll miss out on everything...and lose everyone you care about." Musaki stated.

"Just drop every single case of warrior pride you have and let those emotions flow through you naturally and you'll never be weak." Mako stated.

Tigress couldn't believe all those words everyone else said and she turned to them and said, "But what if I still can't control it?"

"You can. The problem isn't what's stopping you or who's stopping you. The problem is you holding yourself back. You don't want to accomplish everything because you're too hard on yourself and you're punishing yourself and setting yourself up for failure because nothing comes easy to you." Musaki stated.

Hearing all those made Shifu think about why Tigress barely succeeded in life and it all reverted back to how it was when she was living with him and how he treated her and that she's this way now and he knew that he had failed his foster daughter hard and he clears his throat and said, "Musaki's right."

Tigress turned to everyone and she said, "I'm really sorry about all this. I didn't mean for it to go that far."

"It's not really us you have to apologize." Arizona added.

Soon, Tigress knew what that meant the minute she looked at the door where Max is and fear completely went in her mind and she said, "After what I did to him? I can't. I...I just...I just can't."

"Why not? Max has forgiven you before." Summer stated.

"But what if he doesn't this time?" asked Tigress.

"He will. He always will." Musaki said.

"Musaki, I don't know if I can even face Max." Tigress retorted.

Musaki looked at Tigress in the eye and said, "Don't hold yourself back. If you let this slip away, it'll be hard for you to let it go."

* * *

Will there be a reconciliation? Stay tuned!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Blaze (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Shifu: Fred Tatasciore**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Logan: Mikey Kelley**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Hebert**

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**

**Voice of Po: Mick Wingert**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Tae Kwan Do: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Summer: Kellie Martin**


	22. Forgiveness and Apologies

Here's where Tigress does her best to forgive Max and his easy forgiveness seemed to put her on edge, but ends up accepting it anyway because it's part of his personality.

* * *

Chapter 22: Forgiveness and Apologies

Meanwhile, Max was sitting up on his bed and talking with Blaze about his reasons on why he stood up for his dragon friend in the midst of what just happened and as he explained it to him, Blaze could tell that Max is not like any other kid on earth or in this planet and he has much mad respect for the tiger cub and his selfless act of courage.

"...and ever since then, I've sworn to myself that I would never let anyone tell me what I can or can't do because I know in the end, I'll accomplish it. And I'll go as far as to defend my friends or family if I have to." Max stated.

"Wow...you really inspire me, Max." Blaze said, blown away.

Max smiled in response to this and he looked at Blaze and said, "Thanks for saving me."

"Hey...you helped me out when I didn't need any and I just returned the favor for you." Blaze said, smiling.

Just then, the door opens and they turned around to see a very guilty and fearful Tigress coming in the room and the first thing Blaze did was growl at her and he stared at her by asking, "What are you doing here? Giving my buddy another round 2?"

Tigress didn't even bother to say anything because she knew he was referring to what she had done to him and she lowered her head in shame and said, "I guess I deserve those words you said."

"And then some." Blaze stated.

Max turned to Blaze for a second to diffuse the situation and he can obviously see Tigress feeling completely guilty for what she has done and he said to him, "Take it easy on her, Blaze. I think we've been hard enough on her for the both of us."

Blaze could tell that Max isn't all that mad at Tigress for what she did to him, but he was still very much mad at her for nearly killing his tiger friend and he wasn't gonna let her off the hook and Tigress sat on the edge of the bed and said, "Max...can I talk to you, privately?"

"Hey, anything you can say to Max, you can say it right in front of me. But in the case you're gonna mess with him again...you don't want to see my bad side again." Blaze said, with a hint of warning in his voice.

"Blaze...it's okay." Max said, gently.

Blaze looked at Max once again and Max was gonna make sure that everything's all cool here and he trusted Max enough to let him have his time with Tigress. However, he looked at her with a very serious look on his face and lets out a low growl as he left the room and afterwards, Max looks at Tigress for a second and he said, "What can I do for you?"

Tigress couldn't even bear to look at him even after what she did to him and it was very typical Max...he never got mad or furious at her or even yelled at her. She just said, "Max...I'm so sorry for what I have done to you. I just let every part of my jealousy and my anger took control of me and I almost took your life because of that mistake. I totally understand that you hate me and that I deserve to be punished for it."

"Tigress...you know I can't do that. And you know I could never hate you. Blaze might hate you...but not me." Max replied.

"Why not? You stood up for that dragon in front of me and I nearly killed you! In front of the entire Valley that I swore to protect and yet I let my pride consume me because of my bitter jealousy! It was wrong of me to do that and you have the audacity to say that you could never hate me?!" Tigress exclaimed.

Max remained calm through this while Tigress tensed up with guilt and remorse, but the look on her face became a mixture of fear, sorrow and furious mixed in and replied, "Because there's nothing you could do to hate me anyways. But...I guess I should be the one to forgive you. I shouldn't have said those things I said to you. I was just defending my friend and to show that we can't always be afraid of dragons. I didn't mean to humiliate you in front of everyone and for that, I'm the one who should be sorry."

"What are you talking about?! You had every right to say those things to me! For you to say you forgive me?! I'm up here asking for your forgiveness and instead you just said there's nothing to forgive?! Come on, Max! I've done every single thing to you all those years and all you've ever done is forgive me so easily no matter what! I don't deserve your forgiveness! Yell at me, insult me, say something rude to me, do something! I deserve that rather than being forgiven!" Tigress exclaimed, almost in tears but also showing aggressional anger.

"I can't do that, Tigress. I can still forgive you. That's all I can do." Max replied, calmly.

"HOW?! How can you possibly forgive me after all I've done to you?! TELL ME ONE REASON WHY YOU FORGIVE ME OF ALL MY STUPID MISTAKES! TELL ME NOW!" Tigress roared, pounding her fist to the wall hard.

Tigress was obviously panting heavily and she's still waiting for Max's answer to come forward and Max replied, "Because I can. What good would it do to not forgive you?"

Tigress still didn't understand this kid because here she was, almost taking his life because of her blinded anger and even after all this, Max has already forgiven her and it was hard for her to take and before Tigress could say anything, Shifu came in and said, "Just accept it, Tigress. Max has always forgiven you and this time is no different."

"But Shifu..." Tigress started off, but got cut off by a hug from Max.

"No buts. Just accept it." Shifu replied.

Tigress didn't know what else to say and after she saw Max hugging her waist, she slowly places her hands around him and hugged him back while breaking down in tears and she said, "I'm so sorry, Max."

She kept repeating 'I'm sorry' a couple of times and Max nuzzled her and said, "It's okay, Tigress."

Most of the masters were still surprised that Max forgave Tigress so easily, but not everyone was that surprised at all and Monkey asked, "How can this kid not hold a grudge against Tigress?"

"It's simple, Monkey...Max has already been through a lot in his life, but the last thing he would do is just hold it against someone forever and make them suffer for it. Max would always give them another chance...even though some of them might mess it up." Musaki answered.

"The kid's got a pure heart." Mantis stated.

Blaze could see that example showing right in front of him and if he's big enough to forgive Tigress, maybe he can do the same as well. Suddenly, Summer pops in the hallway and she said, "Arizona! You gotta come!"

"What is it, Summer?" asked Arizona.

"What's wrong?" asked Musaki.

Summer panted heavily and looked at Arizona with a serious expression on her face and replied, "It's Sierra."

* * *

What's going on with Sierra? Didn't expect it to happen in the end, huh? Stay tuned to see what happens with Sierra!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Blaze (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Shifu: Fred Tatasciore**

**Voice of Monkey: James Sie**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Mantis: Max Koch**

**Voice of Summer: Kellie Martin**

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**


	23. New Cub

And the moment has come over! Sierra's gonna give birth! Yes, you heard me right...she's giving birth!

* * *

Chapter 23: New Cub

Seconds went by and Sierra was rushed into a hospital room with all the nurses and the doctors rolling by and suddenly...they placed her in the same room Max is and that literally surprised Tigress and Max because they were not expecting Sierra to come there and when Max looked up, she saw that her stomach is getting a lot bigger now and said, "Sierra?"

Sierra looks up and sees Max on another hospital bed and that's when she realized that she's sharing a hospital room with Max and she said, "Max? What are you doing here?"

Max didn't want to explain the real reason why he's in the hospital room because that's gonna be kept to himself because it's Tigress related and he only responded, "It's a long story. Like...really long story."

Arizona quickly rushed by her side and he grabbed ahold of her paw and said, "Hey, I'm here for you. Is it really time?"

"Yes, it's time. I was gonna wait to tell you when you got back, but this baby got other plans. It just couldn't wait." Sierra answered.

Max quickly sat up and got a little closer and asked, "So...does that mean the baby's coming?"

"Yeah, it's coming." Sierra answered.

Max couldn't be more excited...or anxious to see the baby being born and he felt completely happy that Arizona's gonna be a dad and that will make him an uncle and he said, "I wanna be there when the baby gets born."

"Max...that's very sweet of you, but I think it's better that you don't see the birth. It may not fit for a 10 year old to see this." Sierra added.

"Then...why did Sage tell me that I'm ready to see a girls' uvula?" asked Max.

Suddenly, Arizona and Sierra stared at Max for a second in stunned expressions that Sage would fill Max's head with thoughts like that and Sierra said, "Remind me to beat up Sage the minute the baby gets born."

"I'll probably do that." Arizona stated.

Tigress clears her throat and she gets up for a while and leaves the room, but not before looking at Max as he lays back down on his bed and she could tell that there's more of that strength of his still there and it surprised her very well on how pure and kindhearted he really is and she walked out of there with that feeling that he'll be all right.

"So...Sierra's giving the baby here?" asked Samurai.

"That's what the nurses said." Mako answered.

Phoenix expressed a little bit of concern that Sierra's gonna give birth while Max is there and asked, "So...with Max there, wouldn't it be kinda awkward for him to see the birth?"

"Don't worry about that. The nurses are gonna make sure that Max doesn't see the birth of the baby and in the event that Sierra does give birth, they're gonna take Max into another room that's closer to Sierra's where he won't wake up to her screaming." Summer said.

"What?! How will Max learn to see a girls' part? I would've been cool with that!" Sage exclaimed.

Tigress ended up heading towards Sage and punched him in the nose hard and she said, "You have no moral respect for women."

"Like I care. They can come and get a piece of Sage any day of the week." Sage said, smirking.

Summer cracked her knuckles in front of Sage and she turned to him with a very serious threatening look and said, "One more comment and you'll be the third person in need of a hospital bed."

* * *

Hours later

Arizona was right by Sierra's side throughout this process and Sierra started panting heavily and Summer was beside her as well, giving her wolf sister some support through it all and she said, "You're doing great, Sierra."

"Thank you, Summer. I don't know how long will it take for me to make it through." Sierra said.

"You'll be fine, Sierra. Just remember...you will get through this and I'm right here." Arizona said, holding her hand.

Soon enough, the nurses were ready for Sierra to start pushing and she started panting heavily and started pushing as hard as she could and the more Sierra pushed, she started moaning and screaming out loud and Arizona kept hanging on to her and encouraging her to push forward and through all those agonizing moments...

"I can see the head!" the nurse shouted.

"Keep pushing, Sierra!" Arizona shouted.

"I am pushing!" Sierra exclaimed.

And with one final push...did they hear a baby cub crying out of nowhere and Sierra finally started breathing and they finally get a chance to see their new baby boy and after the nurses cleaned him up, they presented the newborn to Arizona and Sierra and one nurse said, "Say hello to your son."

As they give it to Sierra, she was overwhelmed with so much joy and emotion that it couldn't be put to words and when she held him, it was like the best day of their lives. She smiled and said, "I can't believe it...I'm finally a mother."

For Arizona, the feeling was completely amazing than ever and that his dreams and hopes of being a father are coming true and he said, "I'm so proud of you, Sierra."

"Do you realize we brought this little miracle in this world? Thanks for making this the best day of my life." Sierra said, tearfully.

"You made it the best day of my life too." Arizona said, in tears.

They saw their baby cub's eyes just open up and the cub saw them for the first time and in that moment, they knew that their duties of being parents have just begun and the feeling is really sweet. Seconds later, the nurses brought Max back in the room to see the baby and when Max saw it, he was really amazed and happy to see them for the first time.

"Aww...I'm so happy for you guys." Max said, happily.

"Thank you, Max." Sierra said.

Arizona held onto the baby for a while and once he looked him in the eyes, it was like an instant connection shooting right through them and he was gonna everything he can to give his son something he never had; a good life. They were unaware that everyone else is coming in to see this and once they saw the cub for the first time, they knew that this is something special.

"I'm so proud of you guys for having this baby." Mako said, happily.

Musaki agreed with that as he walked beside Summer and he kissed her on the forehead and said, "That's gonna be us someday."

Summer smiled back as well and completely agreed with Musaki there and she's really excited to have kids with him soon and said, "Yeah...that will be so wonderful."

"Just as long as someday doesn't come too soon." Samurai stated.

They were looking at the pup's eyes and they can see a little resemblance between him and Arizona based on the eyes and Summer looked at the baby and said, "He looks like you, Arizona."

Sierra looked at both of them based on the eyes and she can tell that they matched a little bit and she said, "He has your beautiful eyes and your ears."

"He looks like you too. He's got your cute muzzle and your lips." Arizona stated.

Sierra giggled in response to that and said, "Too bad he doesn't have your spiky hair yet."

Arizona chuckled in response to that and she did have a point there and Max looked over at them and asked, "So...what are you guys gonna call him?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should name him after the Dragon Warrior." Sierra stated.

Po was completely honored to have the little one named after him and he said, "I've never had a baby named after me!"

Arizona had a little bit of a second thought and soon...the name just popped out and he said, "I got it. How about...Jacob?"

"Jacob? Sounds very promising." Sierra answered.

"Xiao Po Jacob." Max suggested.

Both parents thought about that name and even though the first two names are named after Po, they felt that Jacob would be onto something and the combination of them together became a huge element and that it deserves to be the name of this pup and one look at him, Arizona said, "Yeah...Xiao Po Jacob. That will catch on."

Sierra agreed and she turned to Po for a second and said, "Is it okay if you used your first two names for our baby?"

"It's cool with me." Po replied.

"Also...I have something to ask you and Max; would you be the honors of being his godfathers?" asked Arizona.

Max was up for the task in addition to being his uncle and Po immediately said, "Absoultely. We'll be great godfathers."

"And Summer...you'll be the godmother." Sierra added.

Summer was deeply honored to be the cub's godmother because her and Sierra are like sisters and friends; literally very tight with each other and she said, "I'd love to. Me and Musaki will babysit him if you want."

"Of course." Arizona replied.

That day became the best day of their lives to see Arizona and Sierra being parents for the first time and everyone took it all in and that it's a moment they will never forget.

* * *

If you guys wanted to ask why or how Sierra got pregnant, just reply back. But anyways...a sweet tender moment for both wolves! They're finally parents! Stay tuned for more!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Sierra: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Samurai: Jason Marsden**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Hebert**

**Voice of Phoenix: James Taylor Arnold**

**Voice of Summer: Kellie Martin**

**Voice of Sage: Josh Keaton**

**Voice of Tigress: Kari Wahlgren**

**Voice of Nurse #1: Sumalee Montano**

**Voice of Baby Xiao Po Jacob: Tara Strong**

**Voice of Nurse #2: Grey DeLisle**

**Voice of Po: Mick Wingert**


	24. Coming Home

And the start of new lives have begun!

* * *

Chapter 24: Coming Home

Several hours have passed after the birth and with that, Arizona and Sierra headed back to the Bushido-Akio house with joy all around them and as everyone went behind him, Max and Blaze were stepping inside the house and it was the evry first time Blaze has entered into someone's house without being fearful to anyone at all or have someone be fearful and throw him out and he helped Max out as they headed in and asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm all right." Max replied, grunting.

Max came closer to the two parents as he saw the baby again and he lets out a smile and said, "I'm really glad you guys are mom and dad."

"So are we, Max." Sierra replied.

"Would you like to hold him?" asked Arizona.

Max nodded in agreement as Arizona gave Jacob to him and despite getting a few wraps around him, he was able to hold him and he looked at Jacob in the eye and the wolf looked at him and smiled at him and for Max...the connection completely made it amazing and he said, "I think he likes me."

"I can tell. I have a feeling that both of you will get along so great." Arizona said.

Sierra received the baby back and she said, "It looks like I'm gonna be staying here for a while...so maybe you and Jacob can be around each other more."

Max nodded in agreement and he looked at Arizona and realizes that his wolf brother's role as a father might come with some changes and he said, "Ari, are we still gonna be brothers?"

"Of course we're still brothers, Max. Why wouldn't we?" asked Arizona.

Arizona stood up and took Max upstairs to talk about this and when they made it to their room, Max expressed a lot of worry and concern about all this and he said, "Since you're a new dad, I'd thought that maybe you wouldn't have time for me and that we wouldn't do anything we used to do."

"Hey...I'll always be your wolf brother. That will never change at all. Yeah, I'm a new dad and I know it's gonna have some responsibilities to come with it, but I'll never stop being your brother. This whole thing will continue bringing us together and I'll always have time for my little tiger brother." Arizona stated.

Max nodded in understanding and he said, "When I grow up, I wanna be just like you."

Arizona hugged him in response to that and he said, "You can help me with our new son anytime you want."

"Just as long as I don't do diapers. That really will make me sick." Max responded.

"I'll leave that for Sage." Arizona stated.

* * *

So...where does that leave Max and Blaze? The answer will come soon!

**Voice of Blaze: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Max: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Sierra: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Jacob: Tara Strong**


	25. Finding a Home for Blaze

And now...we focus on Max and Blaze!

* * *

Chapter 25: Finding a Home for Blaze

Soon after, Blaze was walking across the house and he noticed Mako tending to Reiko as he cleaned parts of her wounds that Tigress placed on and that was a reminder of how much frightening that moment was when Max defended him not too long ago and he quietly walked over to the living room and he said, "I'm sorry...about what happened today."

Mako turned around to see Blaze looking a little bit remorseful and he replied, "Don't be sorry. You had nothing to do with this."

"I know, but I feel responsible for putting Max all through that. He defended me and he almost got killed by it." Blaze stated.

Reiko looks at the dragon for a second and she couldn't bear to see him feel so guilty when he had nothing to do with the whole thing and she said, "Don't blame yourself, sweetie. If things were different, Tigress wouldn't have harmed Max the way she did."

"That's a good point. But why didn't you guys like...go ballistic on her?" asked Blaze.

"We would never punish someone for what they did to our family and we don't harbor any ill feelings towards anyone. We're not like that at all." Mako answered.

"You wouldn't?" asked Blaze.

"No, we wouldn't. We would never do anything like that. It just isn't worth all of that." Mako answered.

That sent a clear message to Blaze that Max's family is far more forgiving than anyone else around in the world that would usually be so cold-hearted and unforgiving at the same time. And the fact that Max is one of those people who always forgive so easily made him see that he's different than anyone else and it was proven today after those crazy events had occured.

"Wow...I never would've thought." Blaze whispered.

Mako nodded his head in response and he said, "It's very rare in anyone, but that's the message I gave to all kids; always see the good and not focus on the bad. Be easy to forgive and never hold a grudge against anyone. And I think Max has gotten that message after we took him in."

Max walked towards the steps and he saw Blaze in the living room and he said, "How are you?"

"Pretty good, I guess." Blaze said, with a chuckle.

Max looked over at his adopted dad and he said, "Dad...do you think we can find Blaze a good home?"

The idea of that became such a big eye-opener for Blaze and he thought that he was joking, but when he explained the whole idea in front of him, Blaze could tell he was serious about it and Mako said, "That's a good idea. That way, you guys can spend a lot of time together and the village wouldn't mind having a dragon living in one home."

"You really think it can happen?" asked Blaze.

"I don't think. I know it will happen." Max said, happily.

That really made Blaze happy and he could tell from the smile on his face that he really found a true friend and he hugged him tightly and said, "Thank you so much, Max."

"You're welcome." Max said, hugging back.

* * *

So...where's Blaze new home? It's not the Bushido-Akio home too!

**Voice of Blaze: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Max: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Reiko: Tress MacNeille**

**Voice of Mako: Kyle Hebert**


	26. A New Home

And in 5 days time...Blaze finally has a home for his own.

* * *

Chapter 26: A New Home

5 days later

Max was almost healed from his injuries as he, Arizona, Sierra, their newborn cub Jacob and Mako walked over to Blaze's new home in an abandoned home and as they entered the entrance, he saw the dragon standing on the front, looking really happy to see him and he said, "Maxie! How are you, buddy?"

"Pretty great. You?" asked Max.

Blaze chuckled softly and replied, "Doing really great in my new place. Best part about it...nobody can bother you and you can do whatever you want. So it's really the best."

"Yep. Since no one claims this house before...you don't have to worry about being homeless." Arizona stated.

Blaze nodded in agreement with that and said, "Yep. And the best part is...I can come to your place wothout someone being scared of me."

"That's right." Max said, smiling.

Blaze looked at the new baby Arizona and Sierra conceived and he took one close look at him and he said, "He's so cute."

"Thanks, Blaze." Sierra said, smiling.

Arizona couldn't agree more and he said, "We're gonna take him to the Jade Palace so everyone can see him. We just wanted to see how you're doing and congrats on your own home."

"Thank you guys so much." Blaze responded.

"Anytime. And my dad said you're welcome to our place anytime." Max said.

"Awesome!" Blaze exclaimed.

* * *

Sorry I made this short. Stay tuned for more!

**Voice of Blaze: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Max: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Sierra: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Jacob: Tara Strong**


	27. Things Looking Up

Pretty good future coming in and Arizona is making an announcement for the Jade Palace masters about his new role as a father.

* * *

Chapter 27: Things Looking Up

At the Jade Palace, Arizona walked over with Sierra, Max and little Jacob and as they entered the palace doors, Arizona saw the masters standing there and he wasn't sure how they'd take the news about this and he took a deep breath and regardless of their reaction they'll take and as he faced them, Master Shifu couldn't help but look at the newborn cub he's carrying and he tried to keep a straight face in, but the look of the baby just made it hard to retain his composure.

"Hi, guys." Arizona said.

"Hey, Arizona." everyone said.

Shifu clears his throat and looked straight directly at Arizona and he said, "How is fatherhood?"

"It's going pretty good. I'm a little tired, but it's all right." Arizona replied, looking at the wolf cub.

"Yeah...this little guy has been keeping us up for so long in most nights that we had to tag team in order for us to get some sleep." Sierra agreed.

Shifu nodded his head in agreement and he said, "I can see that."

"Yeah...the reason why we came here is that I kinda wanna cut my training sessions down a little bit. With being a father and all, I need to take a little break from training. Or maybe just finish my training right there." Arizona answered.

The news came by so suddenly and they were surprised to hear that Arizona's finishing his time at the Jade Palace's training sessions very early and most felt that it was way too soon, but knowing that he's fulfilling a role as a father, they could kinda get the idea why he wants to put an end to his training. Shifu clears his throat and said, "Is that right?"

"Yeah. Sometimes you gotta sacrifice what you can do and just put whatever you desire on hold when you're a parent. It's not always about you, it's about your own cub and how to raise him really well." Arizona replied.

Viper can tell that Arizona gained all the knowledge and wisdom he had in his time at the Jade Palace and she immediately respected his decision to place his training on hold to care for his cub and she said, "We completely understand, Arizona. I think your son will be raised by a great father."

"Thanks, Viper." Arizona said, with a smile.

"You do know we might be leaving the Valley of Peace by the time Musaki turns 21, right?" asked Max.

"Oh...that's right. By the time this little one turns 2, we'll be gone." Sierra said, remembering.

Arizona didn't think about it like that and he had hoped he can do some more training, but he's already gained so much wisdom and learned a whole lot that he can take everything he learned and instilled it in his personal life and he said, "I think we'll take a chance at this. But I can still learn kung-fu in my own pace at Mako's place so I can get more stronger. That and I can show my son how strong his father is."

It seemed very bittersweet, but the decision defintiely became mutual and Shifu said, "We respect your decision, Arizona. It has been a real pleasure having you as our student here. And I hope that your time here will give you the tools you need to succeed in your life. And always remember, the Jade Palace will always be open for you."

Arizona smiled at this and he said, "Thank you."

"We're gonna miss you, buddy." Po said.

"I'm still gonna be at the Valley of Peace...so you guys won't miss me that much." Arizona stated.

"I meant...here at the Jade Palace. You know, Musaki and Max are gonna be the only ones that will come here to do some training in their own time. Not that it's a bad thing, but it might not be the same." Po responded.

Arizona looked at Po in the eye and he said, "I'll still come here for a visit...and maybe I can trust you to babysit your godson."

Po walked over to Jacob and he looked at him in the eye and said, "Hey, little buddy. It's your uncle Po-Po."

Soon enough, Jacob reached into Po's nose and just rubbed it softly, causing Po to chuckle softly and Arizona said, "I think he likes your nose."

"My nose likes him too." Po replied.

Before long, everyone expressed deep appreciation and gratitude over Arizona's time at the Jade Palace and the many things they learned from him as he learned from them and after all that, Shifu said, "Good luck to your and your future plans."

"Thanks, Shifu. That means a lot." Arizona said, bowing to him.

Crane looks up at Max and he said to the cub, "I guess that means you're stuck with us for a while."

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Max said, smiling.

However...for Tigress, the fact that Max is still gonna train in his own time at the Palace was bittersweet as she realized no matter what she does when it's the two of them, she'll bounce back into harming him and harboring resentment and jealousy towards him all over again and she nearly killed him already and there's a chance she might do it again if necessary...and that is something that she fears the most. Despite accepting Max's apology, she will never forgive herself for what she has done and will never get over the fact that she lost control of herself...in front of the entire village and wonder if she would even consider herself a true monster.

"Well then, Arizona...your time at the Jade Palace is up from here. I grant you your release. I wish you the best of luck." Shifu said.

Everyone bowed directly towards each other and as they leave the palace, Shifu could tell that he gained a wolf son in Arizona and he lets out a deep sigh and thought to himself, 'He's really a light in the palace and hopefully, we will all learn from his true example.'

* * *

One more chapter left to go before it's all wrapped up!

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Shifu: Fred Tatasciore**

**Voice of Viper: Lucy Liu**

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Sierra: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Po: Mick Wingert**

**Voice of Jacob: Tara Strong**

**Voice of Crane: Amir Talai**


	28. Things Looking Up, pt 2

And now...a happy ending!

* * *

Chapter 28: Things Looking Up, pt. 2

Back at the house, Max was busy hanging out with Blaze along with Logan, Tae Kwan Do, Bakari, Zacharias, Duke and Isaiah as they played a few games with each other and as they were playing, Blaze looked up and saw this middle-aged man coming in the house and Max immediately recognized him coming in and asked, "Headmaster Wing?"

"Hello there, Maximus." Wing said, waving at him.

Max comes up to the headmaster and he said, "What brings you here? Did you come to talk to Logan or Tae Kwan Do?"

"Actually, I came over to see you." Wing replied.

That surprised Max the most because he never expected someone from his brothers' training class to come see him and he asked, "Me?"

"Yes, you." Wing said.

Back inside, Wing had a little conversation with Max about his performance at the kickboxing/martial arts class and how stellar and blown away by those moves he taught and through it all, Max was surprised that Wing was impressed by it and Wing said, "How about it? I want you to be a part of the experience with us. Everyone at the class has gained a few lessons from you."

Max was amazed by the opportunity to take and he looked at Tae Kwan Do and Logan to see if it's okay with them and Tae Kwan nods his head in approval to go for it and in that way, they can get closer than ever and he turned to the headmaster and he said, "I'd be honored to do it...but I don't wanna do anything to embarrass Logan to take away his reputation."

Wing looked at Logan in a curious expression and he said, "Do not worry. You won't. I have provided a private session with one of my student teachers that'd adjacent to my class. They've witnessed what you do and one of them really wants to take this chance to work with you and you can learn a couple of things from him and maybe he can learn something from you. I've never seen one of my student teachers that determined to work with you in this way."

"Wow...this sounds awesome." Max said.

"Max...accept this. Me and Logan will take you to and from the class on that private session. It'll be good for you and of course...it'll give Logan time to impress his 'girlfriend'." Tae Kwan said, ending it with a snicker.

"I'd love to." Max replied.

Wing nods his head in approval and he said, "Very good. Jason will be your instructor starting next week."

"Thanks, sir." Max responded.

A couple of minutes later, Musaki walked into the house...feeling completely happy and excited and as Sierra walked downstairs, she did see Musaki in a good mood and she said, "You seem happy."

"Yep, very much so." Musaki replied, happily.

"Summer?" asked Sierra, with a teasing smile.

"Nope. I got a job!" Musaki replied.

That is big news for Sierra and she was elated with joy for him and she said, "You got a job?"

"Yep! Got a job at that bookstore place across the street further from Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop and all I have to do is carry boxes of books that's been delivered, place them in the designated sections as well as in charge of the gear, wardrobes and martial arts paraphernalia from comic books to place them in the manga section and spread the word about the books that comes out soon." Musaki replied.

"Wow...that does sound like a great job." Sierra said, amazed.

Musaki nods head at this and he said, "Very. I start tomorrow and I'm already stoked about this. Luckily...since my time at doing apprentice work as a blacksmith takes about five hours a day, I only work from 2:30 until closing time. Best part...they close on Sunday! I think it's safe to say that I'm gonna like the job."

"Congratulations, Musaki! Sierra will be completely happy to hear this!" Sierra exclaimed.

"Happy to hear what?" asked Summer, as she came in the room.

Musaki smiled and said to Summer as he came to her and said, "I got a job at that bookstore you like so much."

Summer was completely happy for Musaki that he got a job and she was really happy to hear that it's in the same bookstore she loves going in and she said, "Congrats, Saki! I'm so happy for you!"

"Guess Summer wants some of your money, huh?" Arizona said, chuckling.

Summer responded by punching Arizona's arm and she said, "No...I'm happy that he got a job. That's all! I only like his work ethic! That's attractive enough."

"How's Jacob?" asked Sierra.

Arizona chuckled as he rubbed his arm and replied, "He's asleep...like a little angel."

Summer smiled at the couple and she said to them, "I'm so happy for you guys...having a baby. I think you two are meant to be good parents."

"Yeah, we didn't plan it...but hey, stuff happens and we made the most out of it." Arizona said.

Soon enough, Max and Blaze walked towards the kitchen and it seems as though Max overheard everything coming in and he said to Musaki, "Congrats on your job."

"Thank you, Max." Musaki said, happily.

Soon enough, the two walked out of the house and decided to take some flight together and as Blaze opened his wings with Max hanging on his back, he was ready. They finally fly up towards the skies all over the Valley of Peace and Max was having the time of his life, just whooping and cheering loudly as Blaze roared in delight.

"We're living it up, Maxie!" Blaze shouted.

"Yeah! With you by my side...there's nothing we fear!" Max agreed.

Both of them were laughing with each other as they were flying high up in the sky and in that instant, they knew that their friendship will be growing stronger and stronger by the minute...especially between a dragon and a tiger.

* * *

THE END

Thank you guys for taking time to read, review, add to favorites and subscribing it! Hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it! Stay tuned for more awesome fics from me! Until then, AniUniverse is out!

**Voice of Max: Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Headmaster Wing: Kevin Michael Richardson**

**Voice of Tae Kwan Do: (also) Ben Diskin**

**Voice of Musaki: Samuel Vincent**

**Voice of Sierra: Kelly Hu**

**Voice of Summer: Kellie Martin**

**Voice of Arizona: Nicolas Roye**

**Voice of Blaze: (also) Ben Diskin)**


	29. Extended Scene

Okay...so I felt like I should've done more with the aftermath response to what happened after Max was almost killed by Tigress...so I decided to make an extended scene to make it up to Solarsystemx. Hope this is better.

* * *

Extended Scene

The Bushido-Akio's were sitting around around the hospital hallway close to Max's hospital bed all while listening to Shifu angrily berating Tigress from nearly killing Max during her rampage that literally set most of the other masters off, but mostly Shifu and as Tigress endures all of her master's outburst, she lowered her head down in remorse and shame over what she had done.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU GO AND KILL AN INNOCENT CUB?! IN FRONT OF EVERYONE IN THE DAMN VALLEY OF PEACE?! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, MASTER TIGRESS?! YOU COULD'VE KILLED HIM IN FRONT OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE THAT YOU SWORE TO PROTECT THE VALLEY!" Master Shifu shouted, in a fit of rage.

"I don't know what I was thinking, master. When I saw Max with that dragon, I thought that I would handle it myself and show Max the consequences of what happened if he brought it there." Tigress replied.

"But still...that doesn't excuse you for nearly claiming that cub's life! For all we know, he could've died because of you!" Shifu screamed, at the top of his lungs.

"I felt as if Max was personally attacking me by defying my commands! I had to stand up to him and he needs to learn the consequences of his actions!" Tigress shouted.

Arizona looked at Tigress in the eye almost as if she had just said to wrong thing to him and figured that nearly taking his life would actually teach him a lesson and he said, "But why would that require hunting him down like an animal?"

"Because I felt that's what he deserved for standing up to me like that! No one would dare speak to me like that! I do not like when people stand up to me and it made me feel like I'm being threatened!" Tigress answered.

Logan felt like he had heard enough of what Tigress said about Max and it was like she was putting the blame on him rather than herself and he stood up and said, "Quit talking smack about my brother. It's one thing to underestimate him, but it's another when you actually kill him and make it seem like you losing your temper on him is his fault. Don't blame it on Max...or Blaze. Blame yourself."

Tigress snarled at him after that remark, but realized that everything he said was right and that she should've handled the situation differently, but instead...her pride took full control of her and Shifu was still infuriated by taking her envy towards the cub to the next level of insanity and he said, "I have warned you many times over and over again to not cause any harm; whether physical or emotional to Maximus because I am far too old to handle all of this! You were acting like a child when you nearly killed him!"

"He damaged my pride! I thought it was only fair to gain it back!" Tigress shouted.

"And that's your excuse? To regain your backbone?! That's complete and utter nonsense!" Shifu shouted back.

"Mm-hmm." the younger kids replied.

Shifu turned to the younger ones with a stern, but very fair look on his face and said, "Do not interfere, please."

"Sorry."

Shifu was still seething with his face full of red fury and he walked towards Tigress and asked, "What possessed you to attack Max in front of the villagers?!"

"He stole my pride away from me! And everyone else took his side after he stood up to me! I felt like they were betraying me and turned against me for that cub!" Tigress shouted.

"The way you acted towards them...did it ever occur to you that YOU turned against them and accused them of being disloyal to you when you were the one that started this whole thing?!" Shifu shouted.

"Don't I know that's my responsibility?! I know I messed up now, but I wasn't thinking at the time! It felt like Max intentionally stripped everything away from me and left me with nothing and I wasn't gonna take that! And to add into it, bringing that dragon to our valley? What was in that cub's mind?! He could've killed all of us!" Tigress shouted.

"But still...did you have to take action by doing what you did?! Even though it did happen, you had absolutely no right to lay your paws on young Max! NO RIGHT AT ALL! I'm so mad right now that I can't even think of a punishment for you right now!" Shifu shouted.

Tigress knew that this was coming in soon and she lowered her head down in shame after Shifu's words, but it wasn't the first time she endured being yelled at by Shifu for the longest time and Viper said, "Just tell us what was the real reason you went after Max?! What were you thinking?"

"That's the problem, Viper. I wasn't thinking clearly. I was so hurt by Max standing up to me and that some of the others were following him that all I could think about was gaining my pride back, showing that he had no right to strip everything down on me and that he was gonna pay for deliberately humiliating me and shaming me in front of some of you guys!" Tigress shouted.

"He's 10 years old. How could he humiliate you?" asked Po, confusedly.

"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense that Max would humiliate you." Samurai added.

Tigress knew that this was gonna be talked about and she was tensed up, but still very shameful of her actions and said, "He has everything! He's got everything that I never had! A loving family, patience, compassion, wisdom, well-trained, calmness, smart, easily forgiven, positive attitude, friends ahd happiness! Ever since he showed up, I've had nothing but hatred for him! Most of you guys focused your attention on him and I felt like I was gonna lose all of you guys so I got very angry, upset, hurt, bitter, resentful and jealous! I was jealous of him that I was gonna hurt him so bad and that I would snap at him for no damn reason! I wanted him to suffer the same pain I felt when I was in that orphanage and that he would feel the same way I feel right now! He should be bitter because of his horrible past, but he's not! Who does that?! WHO DOES THAT?!"

Mako could tell that she was gonna blow her top any second and prepared himself for what's gonna happen next and he asked, "Wouldn't it have been easier to just leave it alone and walk away instead of causing more pain?"

"I WOULD'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE, MAKO! DO YOU NOT GET IT?! MY PRIDE WON'T LET ME AND IT GOT HIM ALMOST KILLED! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I AM A MONSTER?! THAT'S ALL I AM AND ALL I EVER WILL BE! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS, DAMN IT!" Tigress shouted, very loudly.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Shifu shouted back.

But Tigress was in an emotional turmoil that everything she did to Max came back to bite her and Shifu said, "Either way, it should not have happened and you know better than that!"

"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE MYSELF, SHIFU! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I...WILL...NEVER...FORGIVE...MYSELF!" Tigress roared, before punching the wall of the hospital harder.

Everyone didn't want to see her like that and what happened next was unthinkable that she took her fierce anger out on the big window and just slammed it down, causing it to shatter all over the place and many horrified patrons, patients, doctors, nurses and visitors looked at the damage caused by Tigress and once she witnessed the fear she's putting on them, she realized that it was the same exact instinct she used on Max and she panted heavily and Shifu said, "That is the exact attitude I was most afraid of."

"I can't control my jealousy towards Max. He's just so accomplished at everything he does and that's my position! I just liked being the smart and accomplished one and seeing Max succeed more makes me feel less of a warrior and I'm always intimidated by his persistence and angered because he's well beyond his years. That's why I always showed nothing but resentment and bitterness towards him!" Tigress exclaimed.

"Tigress...do you think that the Five would turn against you because of Max? He's only 10 years old. You can't hold it against him and you can't hold it against your comrades too. They would never turn against you for any reason." Shifu added.

"Yeah, we're always by your side, Tigress. You're still our leader. Nothing can change that." Mantis added.

"But I'm a danger. You've seen me try to kill Max earlier. How can you look past that?" asked Tigress.

"Because like Max says...we can't always hold a grudge against anyone. And you could many things to hurt us, but we'll never hurt you." Monkey added.

Tigress still felt responsible for causing so much pain and heartache over what she had almost done to Max and she knew that she would never forgive herself for all of it...ever. She said to them, "I appreciate all of your comments to me and I believe you all, but the truth of the matter is I almost took a young cub's life because of my anger. I'll never let it go...no matter how much I try. I deserve to be punished."

"Tigress...your punishment is 5 weeks of chores and walking up and down the steps of the Jade Palace with heavy lifts. And since you cannot keep your jealousy hidden from Max, you'll have to keep a further distance from the cub. Not complete avoidance or restraining, but to keep yourself away from those envious feelings in front of him." Shifu added.

Tigress could tell that she has to keep her distance from Max in case a part of her jealousy resurfaces once again and she said, "Yes, master."

* * *

And that's the end result. Hope ya like! And once again...thanks for reading 'Friendship Between a Tiger and a Dragon'!


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